It happened again: At the storied Haywood Field at University of Oregon on Saturday, a male high school runner, competing as a girl, took the state title after beating out the female runners for the win.
The 10th grade boy, Aayden Gallagher, was booed by the crowd as he surged to win the Oregon girls’ 200-meter race on Saturday. He was also booed when he stood on the winner’s podium. As the second-place racer’s name, Aster Jones, was announced, the crowed cheered.
Although Gallagher didn’t see a new state record, he came close with a time of 23.82. He also took home second place in the 400-meter race.
Watch as Gallagher surges past Jones for the win:
In April, Gallagher also blazed a new record in the 200 meters at the Sherwood Need For Speed Classic Saturday, running it in 25.49 seconds, about five seconds faster than the next fastest — female — runner.
The Oregon School Activities Organization says transgender competitors must simply notify their school if they wish to be racing in a different gender category. There is no protection for girl athletes in Oregon.
Alaska School Activities Association has different guidelines — students must compete in the division that is established for their biological sex.
But if Alaska’s female athletes go to regional athletic tournaments, they may end up competing against runners like Gallagher.
In Alaska, a bill passed the House of Representatives that would make it the law that boys can’t compete in the girls’ division in public schools. It was the most contentious bill of the session, and died in the Alaska Senate, which is dominated by Democrats.
All House Democrats opposed the bill in Alaska but it squeaked through after numerous hours of Democrat filibustering. Democrats rose to the floor to say that unfair competition from trans-athletes was simply a fake problem that Republicans had invented. They also falsely asserted that it would require children to undergo genital inspection by their coaches.
Rep. Andy Josephson, who opposed the bill to protect girls, said, “So yes, could these bizarre circumstances happen where there’s a transgender girl who by size and acumen and talent, could compete at the highest levels with boys and men but chooses to compete with girls, yes that could happen, and that concerns me. Now, when I say concerns me, it’s like the 5,000th thing in the world that concerns me. I’m more concerned about getting home to work my lawn than I am about that, by a lot.”
