(Daily Mail) Athena Ryan, who transitioned from male to female, had been running in the boy’s team for Sonoma Academy until 2021, when she switched to the girl’s team.
The junior stormed to the runner-up position in the varsity girls’ 1,600-meter finals of the CIF-North Coast Section Meet of Champions that took place on Saturday.
In the aftermath of the race, Ryan boasted about her rapid progress, shaving vast amounts of time off her best performances.
She vaulted from sixth place in her last 1,600-meter race to second ahead of a field of senior high school females.
Ryan’s second place finish (right) pushed Johnson (left) out of the running for the women’s state title
I wasn’t expecting that. I dropped like 17 seconds on my season’s best in the past two weeks,’ Ryan told MileSplit after the race.
‘After last weekend, I didn’t think I could run low 5s again. I was just coming here trying to break 5 – just glad I finished it out.’
But her second-place podium meant that Adeline Johnson, 18, missed out on a place in the state finals.
Johnson, a girl, gave the cameras a thumbs down after securing fourth place after losing out to the transgender athlete.
The senior at Branson High School appeared unimpressed at losing her chance of running at the state finals – and had been improving after coming back from fracturing her hip in two places in the summer of 2022.
Johnson was seen waving at people in the crowd before giving a thumbs down during the medal presentation in Dublin, California on Saturday.
The video of Johnson’s giving the thumbs down was posted on social media by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
According to their Twitter bio, the group is a ‘network of women athletes & our supporters advocating for female protected categories in sport.’
‘I wasn’t expecting that. I dropped like 17 seconds on my season’s best in the past two weeks,’ Ryan told MileSplit after the race
The video of Johnson’s apparent displeasure with her loss was posted by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and shared on social media
Another group that goes by ‘Women Are Real’ on social media also showed up at the meet to voice their opposition.
Several protesters were seen at the track holding banners that read ‘protect women’s sports’ as Athena crossed the line – only for one attendee to scream at them before having security escort them off the premises.
Ryan, who recorded a time of 4:55.91 in the race, did not seem bothered by the protests and celebrated on the podium when presented with the second-place medal.
The California Interscholastic Federation follows ‘Gender Identity Participation’ rules first implemented in 2013.
It means that any transgender student can compete in athletics and activities which is ‘consistent with their gender identity’.
The guide adds: ‘Athletes will participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed.’
Once a student has been granted eligibility to race as their gender identity, they do not need to be renewed each school year.
California lawmakers killed a bill in April that would have required schools to notify parents if their child is transgender.
Transgender runner Athena Ryan of California is shown in an interview by California MileSplit published Nov. 19, 2022
Protestors were at the meet and made banners to voice their opposition to trans people being allowed to compete in women’s events
