Transgender teen wins gold, shares medals at California school athletics championships

San Francisco: A transgender high school athlete won two gold and a silver and shared the medals with rivals under new rules aimed at tamping down controversy over her participation in the California State Track & Field Championships on Saturday.

AB Hernandez, 16, cleared 5 feet, 7 inches (1.70m) in the high jump with no failed attempts and shared first place with Jillene Wetteland and Lelani Laruelle -- who each cleared the same height with one failed attempt.

They topped the podium together at the championships held in Clovis, outside of Fresno, under new rules announced this week by the California Interscholastic Federation in response to criticism of the policy that allows transgender athletes to compete in girls´ events. CIF first modified their championship entry rules so that biological females were not excluded from competition due to the participation of trans athletes.

They then issued a rule change targeting events in which Hernandez had qualified to compete -- high jump, long jump and triple jump -- saying any “biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place” in those events.

The changes came after days of controversy that included a social media post from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold future federal funding from California if Hernandez was allowed to compete.