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Crowd jeers transgender athlete after winning Oregon girls state title
Aayden Gallagher was named state champion in the 200 meters.
May 20, 2024, published at 7:00 PM ET
A transgender high school athlete was booed after winning the Oregon Girls 6A 200-meter state title. RadarOnline.com has learned.
The crowd erupted in outrage when McDaniel High School was a sophomore Ayden Gallagher was crowned state champion after winning the race by two-tenths of a second.
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Gallagher won the 200 meters at the Oregon state finals this weekend.
This weekend, the high school sophomore competed in the state track and field meet in Eugene, Oregon, where she was also booed as she crossed the finish line in the 200 meters.
While she won the 200m race – and clocked the fastest time in the 400m preliminary round – she lost the 400m event by 0.15 seconds.
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The high school sophomore was booed as she crossed the finish line and onto the podium.
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Gallagher faced backlash earlier this week when photos of her participation in the Portland Interscholastic League Championship went viral on social media.
At the PILC, the high school student finished first in the 400-meter preliminary round with a time of 56.14, which he said was 0.23 seconds faster than the second-place winner. the mail.
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Gallagher finished second in the 400 meters.
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Gallagher also came second in the 200m preliminary round with a time of 24.49, which was 0.17 seconds slower than the winner.
The sophomore’s times at the Portland Interscholastic League Championship qualified her for the 400-meter and 200-meter events at the state finals, which were held in the same stadium that hosts the U.S. Championships and Olympic Trials.
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Outspoken critic Riley Gaineswho rallied against the former University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomaspublished the photo of the high school athlete on social media on May 18.
Gaines shared a video of the crowd’s reaction when Gallagher was crowned state champion at X.
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Gaines called Gallagher’s triumph “heartbreaking and deeply regressive.”
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“Look at the girls on stage applauding when the second place (deserving winner) is announced,” Gaines began the post. “Then look at them when the boys’ names are announced. Stop saying girls are okay with this, because they aren’t.’
“This is heartbreaking and deeply regressive,” Gaines added.
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Despite the audience’s visceral reaction, Gallagher was allowed to participate under Oregon School Activity Association (OSAA) policy, which focuses on transgender athletes.
“The OSAA is committed to allowing students to participate in the athletics or activities program of their consistently asserted gender identity while providing a fair and safe environment for all students,” the association said.
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“Similar to Rule 8.2 regarding length of admission/graduation, rules such as these promote harmony and fair competition among member schools by maintaining equality of eligibility and increasing the number of students who have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities,” the policy states. continued.
The OSAA policy additionally noted that “once a transgender student has notified the student’s school of his or her gender identity, the student will be consistently treated as that gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities, provided that if the student has attempted or participated in an activity, the student may not participate on a team of the opposite gender that same season.”
