At the state track and field championships, two high school competitors from Oregon refused to place on the same podium as a transgender participant, according to footage.
The female students, Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School and Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School, stepped down from the high jump pedestal during Saturday night’s announcement of the competition’s winners throughout Eugene Stadium.
Anderson and Eckard had placed third and fourth, respectively, while Lia Rose, a transgender student at Ida B. Wells High School, tied for fifth.
Rose had most recently participated in the 2024 and 2023 boys’ track and field divisions.
It’s unclear how the audience responded to the protest, but throughout the ceremony, crowds cheered for the athletes.
Soon after, Anderson and Eckard stepped down and stood with their backs to the podium, escorted away by a race official.
It’s unclear if the relocation had an impact on their ranking at the competition.
However, the incident rapidly became viral on the internet, particularly after Riley Gaines, a strong opponent of transgender athletes playing women’s sports, shared video of it on X.
“Watch this. Two female athletes in Oregon refused to stand on the podium because a boy was awarded a place,” Gaines stated.
“Girls have had enough,” she continued.
Other accounts, such as “Libs of TikTok,” also shared the video and commended the athletes for their act of defiance.
It was only the most recent instance of transgender athletes in their division being the target of protests by women’s athletes.
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Stephanie Turner, a women’s fencer, was placed on a year-long probation by USA Fencing in April after she chose to take a knee during a Maryland competition rather than compete against a transgender person.
Additionally, Reese Hogan, a 16-year-old high school student, placed second to a transgender athlete in the triple jump competition in the CIF Southern Section Finals in California in May.
However, she took first place on the podium when her rival stepped down.
