Trans-Identifying Male Finishes Second In Two Girls' Races, Would Have Been Near Last Among Boys
That thing that supposedly never happens …happened again. A trans-identifying male high school student made the podium in two girls' track and field events over the weekend — and he would have finished almost last in the boys' events.
Aayden Gallagher took second place in both the girls' 200-meter and 400-meter at the Sherwood High School Need for Speed Classic in Oregon on April 13. Gallagher finished the 200m in 25.49 seconds and the 400m in 55.61 seconds. He would have finished 61st (out of 65) and 46th (out of 58), respectively, in the boy's events.
A video circulating on social media shows Gallagher several meters ahead of the other runners as he easily beats his female competition. Running in a separate heat, only one female finished with a faster time in the 200m (24.43). The winner of the 400m barely edged Gallagher with a time of 55.47 seconds.
One parent, who says her daughter also competed in the race, sounded off on social media: "This video is insane. How can ANYONE think this is fair? These girls came from all over the state to compete in this event and this is what they got- being beat by a boy."
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, males enjoy a biological advantage over females when it comes to sport — even if a fully grown man undergoes hormone therapy. That's why World Athletics (the international governing body for track and field) banned athletes who have undergone male puberty from participating in women's events.
In a May 2023 interview, Gallagher explained that he's not on hormone therapy, but he'd like to be in the future.
"I feel like it’ll make me a lot more confident," Gallagher said. "Because right now I’m just going to keep on getting more and more masculine. More facial hair, stuff like that. And I don’t want that. Estrogen and other hormones and getting vocal training would make me a lot happier and more confident."
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Riley Gaines — host of OutKick's Gaines for Girls — shared video of Saturday's race on X.
"Let's call this what it is: encouraged AND celebrated cheating at the hands of the ‘adults’ in the room," Riley posted. "So many fingers to point, but shame on the parents, the schools, the boy, our weak administration, and @OssaSports."
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Gallagher is only a sophomore. So over the next couple of years, he'll have an opportunity not only to collect more medals, but also to potentially receive scholarships ahead of deserving female athletes. The parent mentioned above indicated that Saturday's results would likely propel Gallagher to State competition, automatically taking the spot from a girl runner.
"He will beat all of the girls, (except maybe 1) break records and be called a hero — for being a male who races against the girls and wins," she wrote.
"We must demand a 3rd category in high school competitions, or races must be by biological gender. Anything else is making a mockery of female athletics."
The Oregon Department of Education currently allows students to participate on sports teams and to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that reflect their preferred gender identity.