Caitlyn Jenner calls for change to rules in Washington State after trans athlete tops girl’s ranking

Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner has called for a change to Washington state’s “woke” rules that would allow a transgender runner to climb to the top of the girls’ rankings after her transition.

The athlete, who was born male and has since transitioned to female, finished 72nd in the final of the competition as a boy last year.

Now, as a sophomore at the Seattle Academy competing as a girl, she broke her school’s girls’ 5,000-meter cross-country ski category and took first place in her competition—and clocked a time that would have been 48th had she competed in the boys division.

“We have to keep it fair,” Jenner — a Fox News contributor — told the network.

“This problem is not going to go away, but I really feel like Washington state needs to make it a little harder. [Transgender students] not easy to identify [as transgender] and then fight against the women.’

Jenner said she blamed Washington’s “wake up” policy for enabling the situation, which she says is unfair to other girls competing in the Emerald Sound Conference, in which Seattle Academy student athletes participate.

In 2007, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) adopted the Olympic Committee’s position that transgender athletes can compete in the category of their new gender—as long as they’ve had surgery and received hormone treatments for at least two years.

Eleven years later, the WIAA relaxed its stance, saying that a male student transitioning to female “must have completed one calendar year of medically documented testosterone suppression therapy to be eligible to participate on a female team.”

The requirement for surgery was removed.

Then, in 2021, the association removed all requirements for a medical evaluation and hormone therapy. The position changed, allowing athletes to compete in categories “in line with their gender identity,” the association said guidance.

“Athletes will participate in programs that are consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed,” the WIAA guideline says.

“School personnel responsible for student eligibility will work with the student-athlete to determine eligibility.”

This, Jenner told Fox News, means “you just identify as trans and you can compete on the women’s team.”

She said ‘[the WIAA] made this rule because they thought it was more in line with Washington state non-discrimination laws that they had there.

“I’ve been out there from the start, like that fourth-place woman trying to get to the state championships. But there’s a trans athlete in the top three there that won’t allow her to go and do that, fulfill her dreams, maybe get a scholarship later on. We have to keep it fair,” Jenner said.

The Olympic champion, who is transgender herself, called on the WIAA to change the rules, citing swimming as an example of a sport that has changed its stance on the issue.

According to the “Libs of TikTok” blog that highlighted the Seattle Academy sophomore’s story, parents of other students competing in the Emerald Sound Conference are upset that the athlete is allowed to compete in the category.

A father told the blog that the student is “taller than all the girls.” He said his daughter was fighting for a scholarship, but he felt he couldn’t speak out “without being labeled a hateful bigotry.”

The blog also quoted a coach as saying ‘allow’ [the athlete] competing against biological girls deprives other girls’ teams of the opportunity to participate in State. If [the sophomore] competed in the boys category, [they] would place 56′.

Jenner has spoken out on the issue of transgender women not biologically transitioning into women’s swimming, particularly in the case of Lia Thomas, a trans woman seeking to compete in women’s swimming at the 2024 Olympics.

Thomas sparked outrage over unfairness after she broke multiple college swimming records, leading to a crackdown on transgender women participating in the sport.

Jenner has spoken out on the issue of transgender women not biologically transitioning into women’s sports, particularly in the case of Lia Thomas (pictured), a trans woman seeking to compete in women’s swimming at the 2024 Olympics

Earlier this year, the world governing body of swimming, FINA, banned trans athletes from competing in elite women’s races if they have gone through any part of the male puberty process.

Athletes who compete in elite female races once they have gone through part of the process of male puberty.

It added that it would aim to establish an “open” category to allow swimmers whose gender identity differs from their birth sex to compete.

Jenner believes FINA had come to the conclusion that it’s not just about current hormone levels, and she shared her experience of how going through male puberty had benefited her.

Jenner believes that, despite identifying as female, it matters whether a trans woman has gone through male puberty or is still biologically male, both in competitive sports and for how it might make women feel.

Critics of male-to-female transgender athletes say they have an unfair advantage over females after they go through male puberty, even if they undergo hormone treatment during their transition.

They also warn of potential safety hazards that arise when someone with male genitalia is in a female locker room.

Transgender rights advocates say students who are trans are vulnerable and should be able to fully participate in school or college life as the gender they identify with.

Jenner has been criticized by some trans activists for her stance on the issue, but said she couldn’t care less about being labeled as transphobic.