A male-to-female transgender runner won a girls’ state track title in Oregon, drawing boos from the stadium crowd and fueling the outrage over the growing presence of male-born athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
Aayden Gallagher, a sophomore at McDaniel High School in Portland, took the gold medal in the girls’ 200-meter race Saturday at the Oregon School Activities Association track-and-field championship, crossing the finish line to boos from fans at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
There were more boos as well as cheers when Gallagher was announced on the podium as the “girls’ 200-meter state champion,” as shown on a video posted on X.
“Look at the girls on the podium applauding when 2nd place (the rightful winner) is announced. Then watch them when the boys name is announced,” All-American swimmer Riley Gaines wrote on X. “Stop saying girls are OK with this because they aren't. This is heartbreaking and deeply regressive.”
Gallagher nosed Roosevelt High School sophomore Aster Jones with a time of 23.82, with Jones close behind at 24.02, according to the final results posted by Athletic.net.
In the 400-meter race, Gallagher placed second to Lake Oswego High School senior Josie Donelson, who won by less than a second with a time of 52.83. Gallagher’s time was 52.98.
Gallagher didn’t break any rules. The OSAA policy allows students to compete in sports based on their gender identity, but the transgender athlete’s dominant performances this season reignited the debate over fairness and inclusion in girls’ athletics.
A woman identified as the mother of one of the female runners told The Publica that the OSAA has threatened to ban students who complain about transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
“My daughter is in her senior year, and she has to compete against Aayden, who just won first at state and took away spots from our girls, and he doesn’t deserve it,” the mother, whose identity was not revealed, in the video post. “He needs to be with the men.”
She added “You have no right taking away from these girls. Their emotions matter, too.”
Doug Binder, editor of DyeStat, said on RunnerSpace.com that Gallagher has a “background in weight training” but had not previously competed in track and field before joining the girls’ team this season.
“Are we supposed to believe that someone who started competing in track and field two months ago, who is male in every way besides identified gender, is the fastest girl to ever come out of Portland, Oregon?” he asked in the Sunday editorial .
Thanks to the OSAA’s transgender policy, which does not require hormone suppression or surgery, he said “the newcomer from McDaniel High jumped the line and went straight to the top of the girls rankings in the state.”
“Saturday's precedent is unsettling and it threatens the integrity of the state meet,” said the editorial.
The Washington Times has reached out to the OSAA for comment. Gallagher has not commented publicly since the state championships.
The championship meet was sponsored by Oregon-based Nike, which has touted transgender athletes in its ad campaigns.
Twenty-four states have passed Save Women's Sports laws barring biological males from competing in female scholastic sports, but blue-state Oregon is not one of them.
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