A male California high school athlete who identifies as female has begun the 2026 outdoor season ranked No. 1 in the nation in the girls’ triple jump.
AB Hernandez, a senior at Jurupa Valley High School, holds the top national mark at 40 feet, 7.5 inches, according to Milesplit. Hernandez previously won California Interscholastic Federation state titles in the girls’ high jump and triple jump.
The ranking has reignited debate over whether males should be allowed to compete in girls’ sports. Last fall, at least eight girls’ volleyball teams forfeited matches against Jurupa Valley, which has Hernandez on its roster.
“The decision [to forfeit] was not about hatred or anything negative. Trans people still have rights, but not a right to play sports against the opposite sex,” Fred Brayton, the father of a Riverside Poly player, told reporters. “It is not about AB. It is about women need[ing] to play against other women. It is about boys participating in girls’ sports.
“The small minority of the community that thinks we are discriminating have it wrong. You can be trans all day long, but you can’t be a boy and play girl sports. You can still go about being trans, but probably need to focus on that and not playing sports against the opposite sex.”
