Adeline Johnson, a female high school student competing in the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in Dublin, CA, finished the 1600m event with a time of 4:58.63. That was good enough for fourth in the women’s division.
The top three finishers in each event qualify for the State Championships next weekend, so Johnson just missed the cut. But what makes this even more frustrating for Johnson is that the reason she missed out on qualifying was because a transgender woman - also known as a biological male - finished higher than she did, thus robbing Johnson of a trip to State’s.
Athena Ryan, who is a boy, was competing on the men’s team at Sonoma High School in 2021, but for the past two years has been competing in the women’s division. Frankly, it’s easy to see why.
Ryan’s second-place time in the women’s division was 4:55.91. If he had competed in the men’s division, he would have been dead-last in both the preliminaries and finals of the men’s races by a wide margin. For some perspective, the slowest time in the male finals was 4:35.12, a full 20 seconds faster than Ryan’s time.
Once again, we have a classic case of a mediocre male athlete so desperate for success that he goes to disturbing lengths to get it. If you’re so bad against the men, why not just undergo gender surgery, race with the girls, and blow the competition away to boost your ego (just like Lia Thomas)?
Fortunately, not everyone at the event was supportive of Ryan’s actions. In fact, a group of protestors with a banner reading “Save Women’s Sports” attended the event, peacefully protesting Ryan’s decision (which the First Amendment allows them to do). Many fans at the track meet came and showed support for this group, but one angry woman wasn’t happy in the slightest that they were there.
In fact, video shows her yelling profanity at the bystanders and accusing them of being the ones who have issues - not Ryan or those who support him.
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
It’s likely too late to do anything to change Johnson’s fate. But frankly, we need more people like the protesters in this group who are willing to use their voices to call for an end to this nonsense.
