A 14-year-old girl has bravely shared her disappointment and anger at losing an athletics competition to a transgender athlete.
Annaleigh Wilson, a freshman at Eastmount High in Washington state, placed second in the 1,600-meter track race at the Cashmere Junior Olympics regional on May 18, losing to a transgender athlete from Liberty Bell High School. Source One reported at the time.
Since then, she and her parents have spoken about the disadvantage she and other biological women faced in the invitation-only competition, and Annaleigh shared her story at a dinner on September 22.
The teenager was seen breaking down in tears as she recounted what happened that day and the vitriol she and her parents have faced since speaking out.
He said the competition is “pretty big” and is “basically the championship for our area,” and he had no idea he would have to face a transgender athlete in the event.
Annaleigh Wilson, a freshman at Eastmount High in Washington state, spoke at a recent dinner about the disappointment and anger she felt at losing a track meet to a transgender athlete.
“I heard this was happening all over the country, but I never expected to see it firsthand,” Wilson told a crowd of more than 500 adults.
He then went on to say that he still didn’t even realize he was facing a transgender athlete when he took his starting position.
‘When all the runners lined up to run, I noticed that this athlete had a very different build to all the other girls, but I didn’t think much of it because we were at the starting line and were about to run. ‘
It wasn’t until Wilson finished second by seven seconds behind the transgender athlete that she discovered what happened.
She described how she heard a “commotion of upset adults and children” while she was at the podium.
“That’s when I heard that the athlete next to me at the top of the podium was a biological boy,” Wilson said.
“My heart sank and I felt extremely discouraged,” she said.
“I felt like all the hard work I had put in all year didn’t matter and that it was just going to be forgotten,” Wilson said through tears.
Wilson placed second in the 1,600-meter regional race at the Cashmere Youth Olympics on May 18, losing by seven seconds to a transgender athlete.
After the competition, Wilson said she and her family “talked about how unfair this was,” not because she came in second but because “for boys to compete against girls at this level of competition is not right or fair.”
“All those biological girls next to me had worked as hard as me all season, but at that moment, our hard work and talent didn’t matter.”
“Our female voices need to be heard, because we are the ones who are personally affected by this,” she continued, before describing the hate she and her parents have received for speaking out.
“Adults have attacked my family and me for standing up for justice and the protection of biological girls in sports,” Wilson said.
‘Adults have told my family and I that we are transphobic, that I am a sore loser and that I value winning more than a human life.
‘We were also told that it would be our fault and that we will be responsible if this transgender athlete takes his life, and then I was told that I’m just not good enough, and that’s why I came second.
“But I feel like the same people who attack female athletes for speaking out don’t care about the mental toll and struggles this is causing female athletes as well,” she said.
“These words have affected me and it has hurt me so much to hear all these things because my family and I are some of the kindest people, who strive to love everyone and do the right thing.”
Wilson then went on to say that she has had anxiety and panic attacks as a result of the vitriol, and that she has been “faithful to prove those who say I’m not good enough by training even harder.”
But, he said, “what hurts the most is that no matter how much I train or how hard I try, the chance of beating a kid is minimal.”
Wilson said she didn’t realize she was going to have to face a transgender athlete, who she noted had “a very different build than all the other girls” at the starting line.
Wilson concluded his brief speech by saying, “Allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports doesn’t work and it’s not fair.”
She said she hopes adults will step up and “do the right thing to protect and keep women’s sports fair and safe for biological girls.”
“I hope we can find a solution for all athletes to compete fairly and safely, because at 14 years old, even I could see that the current rules don’t work for biological girls or transgender athletes,” Wilson said.
The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction currently directs public schools to allow students to participate in physical education and athletics that correspond to their gender identity, Source One reports.
Wilson’s parents, Elizabeth and Brendan, now say they are trying to get the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which governs interscholastic athletics, to change who is eligible for these invitational competitions.
‘We don’t want any hate towards this child. It’s a boy,” Elizabeth told Source One after the meeting. ‘But at the same time, I just want to know how do we protect our son as well?’
“We want sport to be fair,” he said. “Our daughter puts a lot of effort into everything she does in sports.”
The family has since gained the support of former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who has made a name for herself by speaking out against transgender athletes competing against biological women.
He praised Wilson for her bravery in standing up for what she believes in at last month’s dinner, and previously told Fox News that she is “the rightful winner” who “deserves to be considered and called a champion.”