Transgender track and field athlete AB Hernandez has closed her high school career by claiming two California state championships in the high jump and triple jump — adding to a collection of seven state medals accumulated across her time competing in the girls’ division, as the national debate over transgender participation in sport continues to intensify around her.
Hernandez, who has been at the centre of one of America’s most contentious sporting controversies, cleared 5 feet 10 inches to win the high jump and jumped 42 feet 8.75 inches to take the triple jump title at the California Interscholastic Federation state championships. She also shared third place in the long jump with a best attempt of 20 feet 2.25 inches.
Under CIF policy, cisgender competitors who would otherwise be displaced by Hernandez receive duplicate medals. As a result, Daniela Hughes — who jumped 41 feet 1 inch — was named co-state champion in the triple jump alongside Hernandez. The two stood together on the podium, with Hughes, who is committed to the University of California, placing her arm around Hernandez as they posed for photographs. In the high jump, Hernandez and Lelani Laruelle stood side by side displaying their first-place medals. “I mean, it was fun, I’m neutral,” Laruelle told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I feel like there’s no other way to do it. She’s been a real good competitor.”
Hernandez herself was characteristically measured about the occasion. “I’m not gonna celebrate too hard,” she told the Chronicle. “I have grad night tomorrow.” Speaking about her fellow competitors, she added: “We’ve competed against each other for like years. I feel like all of the Southern Section girls, we’re all super close — we just included all the other sections. We’re like super close.”
The trajectory of Hernandez’s high school career has been shaped by circumstances far beyond the track. She competed in girls athletics for years before being publicly outed as transgender in 2025, when a physical education teacher doxxed her in a series of Instagram posts. Since then, she has become one of the most high-profile figures in the national debate over transgender inclusion in women’s sport. Last year, President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California if the CIF permitted Hernandez to compete in the girls’ division — a threat that ultimately did not deter the state from allowing her to continue.
Her college future remains unresolved. With the NCAA having banned transgender athletes from competing in college sport, Hernandez told the San Francisco Chronicle that a decision on her plans had not yet been reached. “Hopefully it comes to a conclusion soon,” she said.
