Transgender high school runner in Washington wins state title in girls 400-meter dash

Veronica Garcia, a transgender high school runner in Washington, competed in the girls 400-meter dash Saturday.

Garcia won the event and became the Washington girls 400-meter dash state champion.

Garcia ran the race in 55.75 seconds, which was one second better than the second-place finisher’s time of 56.75, according to the Pacific Northwest Track and Field Officials’ track scoreboard.

The second- and third-place winners in the race appeared to participate in the post-race podium ceremony.

According to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association policy, every athlete will compete in programs “consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed.

Medical or legal requirements were not listed. However, if questions about eligibility arise, a student does have the right to appeal, according to WIAA’s policy. Legislation for transgender girls participating in girls and women’s sports has been introduced in the state but has not passed. 

In 2021, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a study saying transgender women maintain an advantage over biological women even after a year of hormone therapy treatment.

“For the Olympic level, the elite level, I’d say probably two years is more realistic than one year,” Dr. Timothy Roberts, director of the adolescent medicine training program at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, told NBC News at the time. “At one year, the trans women, on average, still have an advantage over the cis women.

Earlier this month, five middle school girls in West Virginia were barred from competing in a track and field event after protesting and refusing to participate in an event due to a transgender athlete’s inclusion in the meet.