An aspiring track athlete faced a significant setback when she was stripped of her championship title.
During the recent California State Track & Field Championships, trans athlete AB Hernandez achieved victory in both the girls’ high jump and triple jump events.
Donald Trump, who has been vocal about his stance against trans athletes competing in women’s sports, commented on Hernandez’s win.
“A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so,” he shared on Truth Social on June 3.
Trump also took the opportunity to criticize Governor Gavin Newsom, referring to him as ‘Gavin Newscum,’ and hinted at imposing ‘large scale fines’ on the state.
In another incident during the championships, a young athlete faced disqualification for what was deemed ‘unsportsmanlike’ behavior.
Clara Adams, a sophomore from North Salinas High School, triumphed in the girls’ 400m sprint. After crossing the finish line, she approached her father (who is her coach) and received a small fire extinguisher from him.
Moving away from the spectators and onto the grass, Clara used the extinguisher to spray her feet, in a tribute to Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene.
Videos from the event depict officials escorting Clara away shortly after her act, prompting her father to leap onto the track to understand the situation.
As a result, Clara was disqualified, preventing her from participating in the planned 200m race, and her 400m title was revoked by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), leaving the young athlete heartbroken.
Discussing the incident, Clara expressed her frustration to Mercury News: “I’m disappointed and I feel robbed. I am in shock. They [officials] yelled at me and told me, ‘We’re not letting you on the podium.’ They took my moment away from me.”
David Adams, Clara’s father, has suggested that the decision to revoke her title may have been racially influenced.
“She was on the other side of the wall,” he explained about the moment she sprayed her shoes. “I told her to step off the track. She did not spray her shoes on the track. We have protested the decision. I feel it was racially motivated.”