HS Track Athlete Was Born Male but Identifies as Female — and and Turns in Quite the Run at Alaska State Championships

Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot, who was born male but identifies as female, recently became the first transgender athlete to compete individually for a high school state championship, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

Wangyot, an 18-year-old senior at Haines High School, qualified and competed in the Class 3A girls’ sprints at the Alaska state meet, taking home third place in the 200-meter dash (27.3 seconds) and fifth in the 100 (13.36 seconds). Wangyot also played for the girls volleyball and basketball teams this past year, USA Today High School Sports said.

Wangyot’s participation didn’t come without controversy, as Alaska Family Action president Jim Minnery and supporters protested outside the event last Friday:

“We are here today as a voice from the community to ensure that female athletes are not denied the playing opportunities and scholarships otherwise available to them and to make the playing field even again,” Minnery said, according to the Dispatch News. “… Allowing students to play on teams of the opposite sex disproportionately impacts female students who will lose spots on track, soccer and volleyball teams to male students who identify as female.”

Fairbanks Hutchinson junior Saskia Harrison turned in a time of 14.11 seconds in the 100-meter dash, which wasn’t fast enough to make the cut — and she wasn’t particularly thrilled that Wangyot advanced. (Read more from “HS Track Athlete Was Born Male but Identifies as Female — and and Turns in Quite the Run at Alaska State Championships” HERE)

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