A mother in Washington state spoke out about the heartbreak she felt after her daughter lost to transgender high school athlete Veronica Garcia before last month’s state championships.
of Independent Women’s Forum The article featured the story of Rita Larson (not her real name), whose daughter competed against Garcia in the preliminaries of the 400 meters and the 4×4 relay. Larson noted that in the 400 meters, only the top two finishers advanced to the finals, and her daughter placed third.
Although it was not clear whether Garcia was biologically male, Larson said Garcia easily outran the female runners, causing further grief for his daughter.
“She was just bawling,” Larson said. “She just kept saying, ‘This is bullshit.'”
Veronica Garcia won the qualifying race and state championship in the 400-meter sprint. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photo via Getty Images)
Transgender athlete complains about lack of sportsmanship from fellow runners after winning girls state title
“It makes me cry just thinking about it now,” she added. “All I could do was hold her in my arms.”
Garcia then went on to win the state championship in 55.75 seconds, one second faster than the runner-up, according to the Pacific Northwest Athletic Association track scoreboard.
Larson noted that despite her faster times in the girls division, Garcia is only considered a junior varsity runner competing against the boys.
“He can do whatever he wants with his life, but he’s putting at risk what these girls have worked so hard for. My daughter goes to practice every day, she runs in the off-season, she lifts weights and she never stops running,” Larson said.
Other girls at the event allegedly refused to applaud Garcia’s win.
“There were some protesters booing,” she said. “It’s difficult because you don’t want to make kids feel bad, but at the same time, this is wrong and it has to stop.”
Lardon added that her daughter will likely compete against Garcia again in the upcoming fall and spring seasons. While Larson’s daughter still has a chance to win a scholarship based on her individual time, Garcia’s record-breaking time could hurt the girls’ chances overall.
The Washington State High School Activities Association does not require high school athletes to take hormone treatments to participate in girls’ sports. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Photo by Swen Pfortner/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
“If you were a coach and didn’t know who Veronica Garcia was, you would see him as a top 400m runner. [athlete] “I don’t really think of him as a boy,” Larson says. “So [girls] … There are people ahead of you, so you’re obviously not a front-runner.”
According to Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) policy, all athletes will compete in the program “consistent with their gender identity or the gender they most consistently express,” but the association does not require athletes to participate in hormone therapy or use hormone blockers.
WIAA spokesman Sean Bassett later said: Fox News Digital reports that the organization “does not write the association’s rules and regulations,” but that they are “written and voted on by the members” and that staff “provide interpretations of those rules to members.”
Bessette also said the policy complies with state and federal Title IX law.
“The WIAA’s Gender Identity Participation Eligibility Policy protects the ability of all student-athletes, including transgender student-athletes, to fully participate in competitions and activities in a safe and supportive environment,” Bassett said.
He added, “The WIAA takes into consideration the numerous personal, political and religious beliefs of the communities that join the Association. Many of these beliefs do not coincide and create conflict among the diverse groups the Association serves. For this reason, the WIAA Executive Committee is advised to follow state and federal law.”
Ashley McClure, a storytelling assistant at the Independent Women’s Forum, which broke the story, told Fox News Digital that the experience is further evidence that girls are suffering from policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
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“For Rita Larson, tears still flow when she thinks about her daughter’s brutal loss to Veronica Garcia in the 400-meter heat. For Larson’s daughter, and the other women who competed against Garcia in the final, his victory was a brutal reminder that no matter how hard or how long you practice, a man’s biological advantage will always trump a woman’s dedication and drive,” McClure said.
“But to Garcia, the race was ‘just a day’s work, nothing special to me.’ While female athletes have been cheated out of the credit and accolades they deserve, Garcia says nothing significant happened that day. This dismissal of the efforts and dreams of young girls needs to stop.”
As part of its efforts to support women’s sport, the Independent Women’s Forum released a report on mothers of high school female runners. (Chip Somodevilla)
Larson’s talk was part of the Independent Women’s Forum’s National Women in Sports Week, which began Sunday. The week was established for the first time in 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Title IX legislation.
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Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
