A transgender California high schooler won the girls’ triple jump at the winter championships event Saturday, as the Trump administration launches a federal probe into the state’s transgender sports policies.
AB Hernandez, a Senior at Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside County, recorded a jump of 39 feet and 10 inches, while second place recorded a jump of 39 feet and 3¼ inches at the VS California Winter Championships.
Hernandez also took home second place in the long jump event.
VS Athletics — a specialized sporting goods retailer — declined to comment to The Post’s request for comment.
“I get a lot of hate comments, but I don’t really care. I’m a 16-year-old girl with a strong attitude — do you really think I’m going to listen?” Hernandez said in an interview with KCRA last year after she received criticism for competing with female athletes.
Hernandez, who came out as transgender in eighth grade, told the local news station she had received threats and online harassment.
The transgender athlete’s winning streak started last year when Hernandez recorded a more than 40-foot jump at the Ontario Relays Invitational on Feb. 22, 2025, which sparked controversy over transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Local residents have also protested her participation in women’s-only events, holding signs reading “Save girls’ sports,” “Two Xs, no exceptions,” and “Girls’ sports for girls only” throughout the season.
Hernandez said she was able to drown out the boos with support from fellow athletes.
“They really made my experience perfect, and I’ll be forever grateful to them,” Hernandez said. “There are people out there who don’t have that kind of support, so I’m very grateful.”
Hernandez’s case has drawn renewed attention after the Trump administration expanded its probe into transgender athletes, placing her back in the spotlight.
The U.S. Department of Education recently added the California Community College Athletic Association — which oversees 108 athletic programs statewide — to its existing investigation into transgender athletes launched last year, an inquiry that has also named Jurupa Valley High School among other schools.
“Women’s sports are for women,” said Kimberly Richey, the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights. “The Trump administration will not tolerate policies that erase women’s rights.”
The Supreme Court is weighing cases involving state laws that bar transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports, though it has not indicated whether it would challenge states like California that allow athletes to compete based on gender identity.
Under California law, students are permitted to participate in school sports according to their gender identity, not their sex assigned at birth.
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