A high school track star says sharing a podium with a boy is just a way to silence girls.

A high school track star says sharing a podium with a boy is just a way to silence girls.

The state athletic board now forces girls to share top honors with biological males, but athletes say it does not fix the problem.

It is hard to work for years to reach the top of your sport only to be told you have to share your win. For many girls in California, this is now the reality of their track season.

What happened

AB Hernandez, a biological male who identifies as female, won three jumping events at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section finals last Saturday. Hernandez took first place in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump.

Because of a new CIF rule, the top biological female finisher is now automatically moved up to share the top spot on the podium. This led to photos of Hernandez standing next to female athletes as co-champions.

Olivia Viola, a track athlete from Crean Lutheran High School, spoke out against the policy. She said the rule is just a way to keep girls quiet rather than addressing the fairness of the competition.

What the money/evidence shows

• AB Hernandez won three gold medals at the Southern Section finals.
• The CIF rule forces a co-champion status for the top biological female finisher.
• The policy only applies to major postseason state qualifiers.
• The rule does not apply to regular season league meets or invitationals.
• California Assembly Bill 1266 requires schools to let students play on teams that match their gender identity.

The bigger question

Is a shared podium a fair compromise or a way to hide a deeper conflict? By creating a rule that treats two athletes as winners, the state board avoids the hard choice of who should actually be on the track.

We should ask if this policy actually helps anyone. If the goal is to protect the integrity of girls' sports, does a shared medal change the fact that a spot on the podium was taken?

The other side

The CIF says its rules follow state law and aim to be fair to all students. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has called the protests against these policies a cynical attempt to stir up trouble. This argument relies on the legal requirement to include all students, though it does not address the concerns about physical advantages.

What happens now

This rule creates a strange split in how sports are handled across the state. While track and field has this co-champion system, it does not work for contact sports like soccer or basketball. This leaves many athletes wondering if their sport will be next.

What we still don't know

1. Will other sports adopt similar shared-podium rules to avoid conflict?
2. How many female athletes have lost out on college scholarships due to these placements?
3. Will the state legislature revisit the 2013 law to clarify rules for competitive sports?

Source Note

All charges are allegations - AB Hernandez is presumed innocent until proven guilty.