A trans-identified male student has secured a place in the finals of the Portland Interscholastic League Championships after besting his female competitors in the semi-finals. Aayden Gallagher, a boy who identifies as a girl, took first place in the 400m run, and second place in the 200m run.
Gallagher first came under scrutiny in April after footage began to circulate of him leaving his female competitors in the dust during Heat 1 of the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic in Sherwood, Oregon. The footage was first posted by independent news outlet Reduxx, and was later taken down after an individual from Sherwood sent a complaint in to X.
Days later, Gallagher won two more girls track races, seizing first place in the 200m and 400m varsity during a track meet at Roosevelt High School.
On May 7, Gallagher was cleared to participate in the Portland Interscholastic League Championship semi-finals, running in both the 200m and 400m girls varsity races.
In the 200m, Gallagher placed second, finishing in 24.49 seconds compared to Roosevelt’s Aster Jones, who came in first place with 24.32 seconds. But Gallagher dominated the 400m, finishing lengths ahead of his female counterparts in shocking footage that was recorded by The Publica’s Chelly Bouferrache.
Gallagher has now been cleared to compete in the Portland Interscholastic League Championship Finals, which will take place tomorrow at Lincoln High School.
If Gallagher places in the top two in any event, he will move on to Oregon State Championships, potentially taking a critical opportunity away from female athletes
Under current Oregon School Activities Association policies, students are allowed “to participate for the athletic or activity program of their consistently asserted gender identity.”
The policy goes on to note that once a transgender student has notified their school of their gender identity, “the student shall be consistently treated as that gender for purposes of eligibility for athletics and activities, provided that if the student has tried out or participated in an activity, the student may not participate during that same season on a team of the other gender.”
