california track field championship transgender athlete.

The California high school track-and-field championship has kicked off to a relatively quiet atmosphere. That’s despite controversy leading up to the meet over a transgender athlete’s participation. The state’s governing body for high school sports changed the rules ahead of the meet to allow more girls to compete and medal in events featuring trans athlete AB Hernandez. President Donald Trump has criticized Hernandez’s participation. Hernandez led in the girls high jump, long jump and triple jump after the preliminaries Friday. The finals will be held on Saturday.

The California high school track-and-field championship is set to begin Friday amid a controversy over the participation of a transgender female athlete. The state’s governing body for high school sports changed the rules ahead of the meet to allow more girls to compete in events trans athlete AB Hernandez qualified for. President Donald Trump has criticized Hernandez’s participation. He has threated to pull federal funding in California if state officials do not bar trans girls from competing in girls sports. It is part of a nationwide debate over fairness in sports and the participation of trans athletes.