Transgender Oregon high school runner is booed by crowd as she crossed finish line and won girls' 200-meter state title

A transgender teen athlete was booed as she was crowned state champion of the Oregon Girls' 6A 200-meter race.

Aayden Gallagher won by two-tenths of a second and was also jeered as she crossed the finish line on Saturday.

The high-school student ran the best time during the preliminary heats before she picked up the state title.

She was announced as the state champion and her name was met with a mixture of cheers and boos.

The races took place in Eugene, Oregon in the same stadium where the US Championships and Olympic trials are held. 

A transgender teen athlete was booed as she was crowned state champion of the Oregon Girls' 6A 200-meter race

Aayden Gallagher won by two-tenths of a second and was also jeered as she crossed the finish line on Saturday 

Gallagher stormed to victory in the 200-meter final on Saturday and stood alongside six other girls as the result was announced.

She was declared the state champion by the stadium announcer but her name was met with a mixture of boos and cheers.

It comes after she won her heat for the 400m race on Friday with a time of 55.25 seconds.

Her performance earned one of five spots but she narrowly lost in the final by 0.15 of a second.

The tenth grader came second overall across both heats behind Josie Donelson, who won her heat and narrowly pipped her to the top spot with a time of 55.04, Athletic Live reported.

Sophie Castaneda was listed as coming in third overall and second behind Gallagher with a time of 55.65s, per the outlet.

In a clip shared online, jeering could be heard in the background as Gallagher crossed the finish line during the heat on Friday.

Even prior to the win, her participation in the race has been criticized by Republican lawmakers, who called for a change to the regulations after Gallagher clinched a win during a previous 400m race.

Gallagher stormed to victory in the 200-meter final on Saturday and stood alongside six other girls as the result was announced

It comes after she won her heat for the 400m race on Friday with a time of 55.25 seconds

The controversy was reignited after footage of Gallagher's most recent race was shared by Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who campaigns against allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sport

Gaines claimed that Gallagher 'dominated' her most recent heat on Friday, asking 'When will we see coaches and parents standing up to this mockery?'

Oregon State Activities Association rules allow athletes to participate in a category that aligns with their gender identity without the need to provide evidence of a medical transition.

The controversy was reignited after footage of Gallagher's most recent race was shared by Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer who campaigns against allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sport.

Gaines claimed that the student who finished second in the 200-meter race was the rightful winner of the state championship.

The campaigner previously drew attention to Gallagher when she shared another video of the sophomore cruising to victory in a race at the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic last month.

Gaines became an anti trans activist after she tied for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a 2022 swim meet. However, Thomas was handed the trophy over Gaines.

The Kentucky swimmer has since joined forces with a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete at the competition.

OSAA's executive director, Peter Weber, has defended the organization's trans inclusive policy.

'Oregon law has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,' he wrote in a letter to his critics.

'In 2019, the Oregon Department of Education amended its rules that 'sexual orientation' was defined to include 'gender identity.' The Oregon legislature likewise amended the definition of 'sexual orientation' to include 'gender identity.''