An Oregon high school runner named Aayden Gallagher was booed while crossing the finish line of the race and while being crowned as the champion for the track event, the 200-meter dash. Gallagher is a transgender individual who won the Oregon Girls’ 6A 200-meter state champion, which is what led to the outrage from some members of the crowd.
Gallagher, as background, competes for Oregon’s McDaniel High School. In the 200 meter race competition, Gallagher, a sophomore who had the best time in the event’s preliminary heats, won the event by just two-tenths of a second and was booed while crossing the finish line.
Gallagher also competed in the 400-meter race, winning in the preliminary race but then losing the final by 0.15 of a second. The track races took place in the same Eugene, Oregon stadium where the U.S. Championships and Olympic Trials occur.
Transgender athlete participation in high school sports is allowed by the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), which has a policy for the matter that provides, Fox News Digital reports, “The OSAA endeavors to allow students to participate for the athletic or activity program of their consistently asserted gender identity while providing a fair and safe environment for all students.”
The OSAA also claims that the rule promotes “harmony and fair competition,” providing, “As with Rule 8.2 regarding Duration of Eligibility / Graduation, rules such as this one promote harmony and fair competition among member schools by maintaining equality of eligibility and increase the number of students who will have an opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities.”
Further, the OSAA provides “once a transgender student has notified the student’s school of their gender identity, the student shall be consistently treated as that gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities, provided that if the student has tried out or participated in an activity, the student may not participate during that same season on a team of the other gender.”
Watch the race and booing here:
Women’s sports activist Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who competed against Lia Thomas, posted about the incident on X, writing, “Another proud moment for women’s sports! Aayden Gallagher (male) just placed 1st in the Oregon state championship in the women’s 200m after placing 2nd in the 400m. Just listen to the audible BOOS. People are over this…& it’s about time.”
One commenter on X, who claimed to be a parent interviewed about the events, wrote, “There were thousands of people there, and only a handful were willing to speak out. There was one woman in the stands when the boy ran against the girls who stood up and yelled for everyone to hear ‘That’s a boy in lane 5 running against the girls. This is wrong. This shouldn’t happen.’ More people need to call this out. Not just online but in person.” Apparently, parents could be banned from future OSAA events for life for speaking out about the matter, which that supposed parent claimed led many to not speak out.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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