East Valley of Spokane transgender senior Veronica Garcia is going viral for several reasons this week. The transgender athlete won another Class 2A girls 400-meter dash at the WIAA championships in Tacoma.
As the defending champion, Garcia led from near-start to finish Saturday, winning the race in 55.70 seconds at Mount Tahoma Stadium.
Lauren Matthew of West Valley of Spokane came in second place, finishing at 56.75. Cedarcrest’s Lydia Swenson was third at 57.72.
What should’ve been a joyous occasion for any repeat state-meet winner, Garcia was met by a wave of loud boss from the crowd. Last year, Garcia made history as the first transgender track athlete to win a Washington state title in the same event, garnering national attention and sparking controversy.
That controversy has only gotten bigger this year since Donald Trump took office.
Though the jeering follows Veronica Garcia when she races in track events, it hasn’t slowed her down or broken her spirit.
After her finish, Garcia grinned through the boos as other racers high-fived each other while she soaked in her victory alone.
The defiant 17-year-old hit back at her critics, telling the Seattle Times that the abuse was ‘expected.’
‘But it maybe didn’t have their intended effect. It made me angry, but not angry as in, I wanted to give up, but angry as in, I’m going to push,’ Veronica Garcia said.
‘I’m going to put this in the most PG-13 way, I’m just going to say it’s a damn shame they don’t have anything else better to do. I hope they get a life. But oh well. It just shows who they are as people.’
The 17-year-old continued: ‘I’m really proud of myself… I did what I came to do, and that’s good enough for me.’
Competitors Also Mocked Veronica Garcia
Veronica Garcia got major backlash from the crowd for being transgender and competing against girls.
The crowd was harsh, but so were her competitors.
On the awards stand after her Class 2A girls’ 400-meter dash victory at the WIAA championships in Tacoma, competing athletes wore T-shirts that read, “Keep Women’s Sports Female.”
