Trans athlete AB Hernandez takes girls’ track and field state championships in California, defying Trump

The meet was plagued by protests, an arrest and a women’s rights activist was forcibly escorted out

Just days after President Donald Trump sent a warningto California about letting a male compete in girls’ track and field, the state allowed a trans athlete to take two state titles against female competitors.

AB Hernandez, a transgender student athlete for Jurupa Valley High School, took first place in the girls’ high jump and triple jump at the state championship on Saturday at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Clovis, California.

Hernandez also finished in second place in the long jump to Woodrow Wilson High School’s Loren Webster. Webster was the only female to finish ahead of Hernandez in any competition the trans athlete competed in this weekend.

Hernandez previously took first place in all three events at the preliminary round on Friday. Meanwhile, female competitors who finished behind Hernandez in this weekend’s events were all bumped up one spot and received the medal they would have earned had the trans athlete not competed.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) made a series of sweeping rule changes in the days leading up to the event to ensure any females who finished behind a biological male would be appropriately rewarded a medal based on where they placed among female competitors.