A group of female runners stood in silent protest, hands behind their backs. This happened after they lost to a transgender athlete in the 400-meter dash at the Washington State Championship on Saturday.
Veronica Garcia is a 16-year-old transgender runner from East Valley School District in Spokane, Washington. He finished the race with a time of 55.75 seconds, a full second ahead of the fastest biological female competitor.
Cheers greeted the participants as they crossed the finish line, but the atmosphere changed when Garcia ascended the podium. The WIAA State Championship Meet in Tacoma, Washington, resounded with boos and jeers.
While other female finishers received applause, the reaction was starkly different when Garcia claimed her first-place medal. The other competitors who were aged 16 to 18, stood in stoic protest.
Lauren Matthew was representing West Valley School District. She came second with a time of 56.75 seconds, unable to match Garcia’s pace.
Had Garcia competed in the boys’ race, she would not have placed in the top 16. This is because the slowest boy finishing at 53.12 seconds, over 2.5 seconds faster than Garcia’s time.
As Matthew’s name was announced, the stadium erupted in cheers for her respectable second-place finish. In contrast, Garcia’s victory was met with virtual silence. Fellow runners on the podium stood with hands behind their backs.
Garcia’s performance is part of a series of wins, significantly outpacing her previous results on the boys’ team. Last month, she finished 13th out of 152 girls at the Washington State 2A Championships, following a cross-country meet. The previous year, Garcia placed 164th out of 172 in the boys’ 5000m at a regional championship in the fall.
In Washington State public schools, students can participate in athletics according to their gender identity without providing medical transition evidence.
Following Garcia’s win, a former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted a video of the race on social media.
She wrote: “Would you look at that…the thing that never happens happened again. Veronica Garcia (Donovan Brown) just won the Washington State Championship in the girls’ 400m in total domination.”
Gaines became an activist after tying for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a 2022 swim meet, where Thomas received the trophy. She has since joined a dozen college athletes in a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete.
