Mother of Transgender Athlete at Heart of High School Track Dispute Expresses Frustration

The mother of AB Hernandez, a contentious transgender track athlete, has taken to social media to criticize a regulation permitting biological female competitors to share the podium despite being outperformed.

During a California track competition on Saturday, Hernandez shared the top podium spot with female competitors, even though Hernandez had decisively won the division championships.

This unusual scenario played out at the CIF Southern Section finals in Moorpark, where Hernandez had effortlessly surpassed biological female athletes in events like the long jump, high jump, and triple jump.

As the podium ceremony approached, the announcers informed the audience that each event would recognize two ‘co-champions,’ including Hernandez. This rule, introduced last year, appears to aim at pacifying the defeated young female athletes.

According to Fox News, Hernandez from Jurupa Valley High School outperformed in the long jump, surpassing Moorpark High’s Gianna Gonzalez by more than a foot. However, Gonzalez stood alone atop the podium, as Hernandez was absent.

In the second event, Hernandez won first place in the high jump by two inches, beating biological female Gwnneth Mureika of Oak Park. At the podium celebration, the pair stood together on the top step.

AB Hernandez shared the top step of the podium with ‘co-champions’ despite winning easily

Transgender athlete Hernandez (L) again dominated as her mom Nereyda (R) watched on

Hernandez’s mom, Nereyda, shared a post after the event condemning the new podium rule

The final event was triple jump, in which Hernandez reportedly won by nearly two feet over Malia Strange of Shadow Hills. Strange was mysteriously absent from the podium celebration, leaving Hernandez to stand alone without the ‘joint champion’.

It has since emerged that Hernandez’s mom, Nereyda, shared a post after the event had finished condemning the new rule.

Originally posted by Rainbow Families Action, it shows a picture of a letter from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) giving the green light to the rule change.

‘All these big, tough ex-athletes at CIF, and the most courage they could muster was to hand this to coaches at AB’s meet today,’ the group commented in their original post.

‘Not one of them was brave enough to look her or her mother in the eye and say: “This whole project of violating Ed Code is aimed at you. A child.”‘

In a separate post about the event itself, Nereyda added: ‘Today at the CIF Track & Field Finals my heart was full watching A.B compete.

‘No matter how differently she may be seen by some, she continues to walk onto that field with the most beautiful smile on her face, gives EVERY event her ALL, and carries herself with grace, determination, and sportsmanship.’

Hernandez now moves on to next Saturday’s CIF preliminaries, with a chance to get back to the state finals for a second straight year.

Hernandez won the high jump finals by two inches at Moorpark High School in California

CIF changed policy last year to extend awards to biological females displaced by trans rivals

Protestors have regularly complained about Hernandez’s participation in the girls’ events

Last year, the CIF authorities brought in a ‘pilot program’ – amid much fury – that awarded any female athlete who finished behind a trans rival the chance to share the top step of the podium as a joint winner.

It has been reported that the same circumstances will be in place for the remainder of the postseason.

Last week, one of Hernandez’s biggest rivals had threatened to protest against the trans athlete if she was on the podium too.

Reese Hogan, of Crean Lutheran High School, went viral 12 months ago with a similar protest, in which she finished behind Hernandez but then made a point of taking her place on the top step of the podium. 

When asked if she would take a stand again this year, Hogan told Fox News Digital: ‘If the opportunity presents itself, we’ll see, yeah.’

On Saturday, Hogan finished third in the high jump, sixth in the triple jump, and did not make the finals of the long jump. 

‘This is my third year competing against a transgender athlete, and last year I was stripped away of a CIF Title. I basically worked my whole career to get to that point,’ Hogan told the outlet during the emotional interview earlier in the week.

‘It’s just really disappointing to go into a competition knowing you already lost.

‘I’m here to stand up for girls in girls sports and to call out CIF and the state of California for their poor leadership and lack of support for female athletes.’