Riley Gaines shares messages of support after trans girl scores second place at the California Meet of Champions

Riley Gaines shared messages she received after trans athlete Athena Ryan finished second at the California Meet of Champions.

Riley is a supporter of protecting women's sports

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Former NCAA star swimmer Riley Gaines shared messages of support during the California Meet of Champions. Riley, who is outspoken about protecting women's sports from transgender athletes, shared supportive messages she received from parents of other swimmers.

Gaines shared messages on Twitter

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Gaines tweeted, "Just a few of the many messages (I’ve) received from the girls + their parents in CA whose sport (T&F) is being infiltrated with mediocre men. They feel helpless. How can you read these and think what's happening is okay? (It’s) discrimination against women and bullying at its finest."

Praising Gaines

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People called Gaines an "inspiration, and criticized transgender competitors in women's sports, branding it as "unfair."

A trans woman placed second in California

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Athena Ryan secured second place in the varsity girls' 1,600-meter run over the weekend. Ryan from Sonoma Academy finished behind Hanne Thomsen from Montgomery and ahead of Ellie Buckley from Campolindo.

Ryan's progress

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Ryan will progress to the California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships next week. The junior from Sonoma Academy seemed unbothered by the controversy and protests and finished with a 4:55.91.

She beat her preliminary results

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During the preliminary race, Ryan finished sixth place in the 1,600-meter preliminary race and 21st in the girls' 800-meter preliminaries.

Gaines spoke on Capitol Hill

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Gaines attended the House Republicans’ Women's Bill of Rights unveiling at Capitol Hill. At a press conference, she said the bill would define the word "woman" in federal law in order to bolster other bills, such as the House’s recently passed Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.

Gaines asked girls not to compete with trans athletes

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While on Fox News, the former swimmer from the University of Kentucky swimmer said, "We have to have girls who, when the whistle blows, they don't run, they don't swim. They stand up on the block, and they don't go. It's unfortunate, of course, to ask women to make that sacrifice because these are their sports, they should be entitled to playing. They shouldn't have to give up anything to get changes."

She feels like people are fed up

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Further, the swimmer expressed, "I think people are really beginning to get fed up with this. I think initially, maybe two years ago, maybe we thought we could coexist and that we could allow trans women into our spaces because we could be inclusive. But now we're seeing, of course, that doesn't work.

Gaines vs. Lia Thomas

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Lia Thomas represented the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania. After the hormone treatment, the swimmer started representing the women's team. When Thomas said, "It breaks my heart to see trans kids lose out on opportunities," Gaines fired back.

Gaines' message

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In response, Gaines said, "Replace that with the word 'woman.' Does it still break Thomas's heart to see women lose out on opportunities? Because that's what's happening."

Riley went further

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Talking to Piers Morgan, the swimmer shared, "From my experience competing against Lia Thomas at the national championships, I watched first-hand women lose out on opportunities. I watched women not become All-Americans, missing that eighth and 16th place because they were displaced by a male."

source https://www.womenio.com/46269/riley-gaines-shares-messages-of-support-after-trans-girl-scores-second-place-at-the-california-meet-of-champions