Transgender athlete shares co-champion status at CIF meet in California

A transgender high school athlete won three jumping events at a California track championship on Saturday, leading to a podium ceremony where officials recognized both the athlete and the highest-finishing female competitor as co-champions. The situation has reignited a longstanding debate over transgender participation in girls' sports.

AB Hernandez, a senior from Jurupa Valley High School, won the girls' long jump, high jump, and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division 3 finals in Moorpark. Hernandez won the long jump by more than a foot, the high jump by two inches, and the triple jump by nearly two feet.

During the awards ceremonies, announcers declared that each event had two co-champions, a result of a CIF pilot program enacted last year. The program states that any female athlete finishing directly behind a transgender competitor is elevated to an identical placement for podium recognition. In the long jump ceremony, Hernandez was absent, so the second-place finisher stood alone on the top podium spot. For the high jump, Hernandez and the second-place finisher shared the top step. In the triple jump, the second-place...