A trans female high school athlete will be going to the state finals after coming in 2nd in the girls 1600 race. The 4th place girl will not be going to the state finals because only the top 3 finishers advance.

Athena Ryan, a junior from Sonoma Academy, finished in second place in the girls’ 1,600-meter race during the California Interscholastic Freedom (CIF) North Coast Section Meet of Champions Saturday. The competition determines which high school athletes will advance to California’s track and field championships, representing the CIF-North Coast Section.

Ryan, who is allegedly transgender, moved from 4th to 2nd place in the final steps of the 1,600-meter race. The top three finishers advanced to next week’s state championships.

The high school track star who claimed fourth place — losing a shot to compete at the state championships — appeared to give a thumbs-down to spectators during the podium placement ceremony in Dublin, California.

Here’s video of the race finish (2nd clip below). Athena is the runner in green.

What a finish in the girls 1600! Hanne Thomsen wins with a 4:51, but Sonoma Academy’s Athena Ryan with the biggest kick of her life to take second, with a 4:55 #PDPreps pic.twitter.com/GFeWQjPNao

— Kienan O'Doherty (@kodoherty22) May 21, 2023

There’s no doubt that Athena finished 2nd in the 1600 with a time of 4:55. You can see that in the clip above and there’s an interview which was recorded immediately after the race which confirms those details.

There’s also a clip circulating which shows six competitors on a podium. This appears to be the same girls in the same finish order but the times being read out sound more like 400 times. Not sure why that is. But at the start of this you can see the 4th place finisher wave and then give a thumbs down. It’s unclear what this was about though but clearly she’s aware that she missed her chance to go to the state finals.

🏃Trans-identifying male, Athena Ryan (Jr) took 2nd today in the “Girls 1600m” at a CA State Championship qualifier meet in Dublin, CA.

Ryan beamed while 4th place senior, Adeline Johnson gave a thumb down after losing the chance to advance to the State Championships by 1 spot. pic.twitter.com/iY2InxvhJt

— ICONS (@icons_women) May 21, 2023

There was a group of protesters on hand who were holding a banner that read “Protect Female Sports.” They seemed to get some support from parents and athletes but also got screamed at by one woman.

One women found our “Protect Female Sports” banner disgusting and offensive. Note the secretive thank you’s and a high-five by a female athlete at the end. @SF_TERF_CENTRAL @XxtraEstroGenny @icons_women #SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/4SHwXYxJI6

— WomenAreReal (@WomenAreReals) May 21, 2023

Eventually, they were ushered out on the grounds that signs were not allowed.

Standing up for what's right is no longer welcome when it comes to fighting against the left in America https://t.co/K6Fbop6243

— #SaveWomensSports (@SaveWSports) May 22, 2023

I really don’t understand why some people think this is fair? My son runs high school track here in California so I’ve been to quite a few track meets in the past three months. There’s an obvious and often significant difference between the male runners and the female runners. The top runners in both groups are in great shape and amazing to watch, but the male times for a given distance are usually quite a bit lower. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that male runners belong in competition with other male runners not with the female runners otherwise the women would never have a chance.

And really that’s what we’re seeing here except that in this case only one trans athlete is competing. So instead of leaving all the girls behind it’s just one person getting displaced, in this case the 4th place runner. I don’t know for certain if Adeline Johnson is a senior but this was probably her last chance to go to the state championships. Now she won’t get that chance and Athena Ryan is apparently going for the 2nd time as a junior. It’s just not fair and a thumbs-down doesn’t seem to really cover it.