Trans athletes competing in women’s sports is a hot-button topic. Some people are okay with it and others will argue their point until they are blue in the face.
Sometimes, events take place that leave people wanting to make a statement, and that occurred when a 17-year-old trans athlete competed at a track and Field championship.
Veronica Garcia, that 17-year-old athlete won the class 2A 400-meter sprint at Mount Tahoma High School, in Tacoma, Washington. The athlete did some amazing things on the track, but they also had to put up with some heckling as well.
One thing that happened while the student was stretching before the race started was a man walking by was antagonizing the teenager. He was wearing a shirt with an American flag and the words: ‘Save Women’s Sports’ printed on it.
Some reports say that the man was also sitting close to the starting blocks and was shouting ‘girls race’ and ‘let’s go girls’ repeatedly as the athletes were on the field.
Veronica did more than just win against her nearest competitor, they were able to win by a full second. That other student, West Valley junior Lauren Matthew was holding a sign after the race that read: ‘Washington State Track and Field Real Girls 2A 400m Champion.’
Veronica came in at a time of 55.70 seconds. That was half a second faster than the score the student got last year. They also gave the following statement to the news: “I’ll be honest, I kind of expect it.
“But it maybe didn’t have their intended effect. It made me angry, but not angry as in, I wanted to give up, but angry as in, I’m going to push.
“I’m going to put this in the most PG-13 way, I’m just going to say it’s a damn shame they don’t have anything else better to do. I hope they get a life. But oh well. It just shows who they are as people.
“I’m really proud of myself. I did what I came to do, and that’s good enough for me.
“One of the things that Martin Luther King always pointed out is that you have to do what’s right. Even if there comes risk, you still have to do what’s right.”
Lauren, who won second place also spoke to the news. She said: “I shouldn’t have to push myself to the point of where I’m about to, like, die in order to win.
“I know I’m gonna push myself to keep going, but I don’t want a man pushing me to have to go.”
