On Saturday, a transgender biological male competed in the Sherwood Need For Speed Invitational, a track and field competition held at Sherwood High School in Sherwood, Oregon. Aayden Gallagher, a grade 10 trans-identifying student from McDaniel High School in Portland, competed in three Girls' events: the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 4x100-meter relay.
Gallagher finished the heat in first place with a time of 25.49, beating the heat's next fastest competitor by over five seconds. This time gave Gallagher a second-place overall finish in the Girls' 200 meter, with Aster Jones of Roosevelt High School finishing in the top spot after running a 24.43.
If Gallagher had competed in the Boys' 200-meter in Sherwood on Saturday, a time of 25.49 would have resulted in finishing in 61st place.
Gallagher finished the quarter mile race with a time of 55.61, again taking second place in the Girls' competition. In the Boys' 400-meter competition, this time would have resulted in finishing in 57th place. In the Girls' 100-meter relay competition, McDaniel High School took seventh place with a time of 50.81
Gallagher has garnered attention at a time when reforms have been made in collegiate organizations, barring biological males from competing in women's sports competitions.
As RedState previously reported:
On Monday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), an organization responsible for overseeing more than 83,000 athletes, primarily at smaller colleges, passed a ban on transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The policy, which received unanimous approval from the NAIA's Council of Presidents in a 20-0 vote, stipulates that only student-athletes whose assigned sex at birth is female will be permitted to compete on NAIA-sponsored women’s sports teams.
In January, the state's varsity athletic policies made headlines when a high school tennis coach resigned in protest of "boys playing girls sports," calling it "wrong." Dave Brown, who managed the girls' varsity team at Canby High School in Oregon, posted a video on social media discussing his decision.
In the caption, Brown wrote:
This week, I resigned from my position as the head girls varsity tennis coach at Canby High School.
It was not an easy decision to make.I love coaching, and have enjoyed every moment of working with these girls. But I can no longer stand by and watch as their dreams are shattered, and their opportunities are taken from them. I can no longer stand by silently, while all the work that was put into title 9 is disregarded. I cannot support policies that put the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health of women at risk.
I stand with my wife. I stand with women. I stand for truth.
Gallagher's recent performance is the latest example in the ongoing debate surrounding transgender athletes in women's sports, while reversing transgender-inclusive policies gains traction with sports regulatory organizations, upholding the integrity and fairness of competition.
Read More:
NAIA Implements Ban on Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports, Reflecting Religious Influence
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