AB Hernandez won the high jump and the triple jump at the 106th CIF State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, finishing third in the long jump too. A transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High School, Hernandez competed under CIF's existing policy and, when asked about the protesters, said simply: "I just laughed. I don't care."

What actually happened in Clovis

At Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School, Hernandez cleared 5-10 to win the high jump, leapt 42-8¾ to win the triple jump, and opened the day with a 20-2¼ long jump that earned a third-place finish. She competed in all three events and placed in all three. That is not a footnote to a political story; that is the story.

Hernandez graduated from Jurupa Valley High the Wednesday before the meet. She went to her graduation, then went to Clovis and won twice, and it is genuinely lovely.

What I hear in her words to the Riverside Press-Enterprise is not bravado; it is something quieter and more grounded. "Track is a very singular sport; it teaches you to rely on yourself. Once you're on the track, you just stay focused on the track." That is the discipline of an athlete who has trained for this, who knows what she is doing, and who has learned to let the noise be noise.

About those protesters

Two Republican gubernatorial candidates issued statements. One of them, Steve Hilton, turned up in Clovis the day before the meet to stand next to signs reading "Girls' Sports Girls Only." Politicians travelling to a high school athletics event to protest a teenager's right to compete tells you everything about where their priorities lie, and nothing useful about sport.

Hernandez's response? "I just laughed. I don't care."

That is the sentence I keep coming back to. Not because it is defiant, exactly, though it is. Because it is the response of a young person who has found something she loves, who has worked extraordinarily hard at it, and who has decided that the people trying to make her feel small are simply not worth her attention. That takes maturity. It takes strength. It also, honestly, takes a lot of practice, and she has clearly had plenty.

The CIF policy and what it actually does

CIF's approach is specific and considered. Transgender athletes who place at the state championships receive medals but do not displace cisgender girls in the final standings. In the three events Hernandez competed in, the federation confirmed this policy applies. In practice, that meant other athletes were also credited with first and third-place finishes alongside her. The girls Hernandez competed against were not pushed off the podium.

You can disagree with this policy if you like; reasonable people hold a range of views on how to balance inclusion with competition. But the framing of Hernandez's participation as an attack on girls' sport is not a reasonable view. It is a political choice, presented as concern for fairness, and it uses a young woman's athletic achievement as ammunition.

The federal government's role in this

After last year's CIF championships, where Hernandez also won the triple jump and high jump, the story reached Donald Trump, and the US Department of Justice subsequently sued California, warning that allowing transgender athletes to compete in high school sports put billions of dollars in federal education funding at risk. A federal administration using funding threats to push a teenager out of track and field. That is where we are.

Tom Steyer, running as a Democrat for governor, released a video of a conversation he had with Hernandez before the meet. "I'm so proud of you for what you're doing," he tells her. "So proud of you for succeeding. So proud of you for competing." He also addressed it on a podcast, framing it simply: when nearly half of trans kids attempt suicide, the answer is not to cut them off from sport and team membership. He is right about that.

What this looks like from where I stand

I have spent years talking with trans young people and their families, and one thing I hear again and again is how much sport matters. Not just as exercise, but as belonging. As being seen by teammates. As having a coach who calls you by your name. As being on a bus together after a meet, tired and happy. Those things are not trivial. They are part of how young people grow up, and trans young people need them just as much as anyone else does.

AB Hernandez won two state titles, graduated from high school, and told the world's protesters that she laughed at them. The reporting from ABC7 and others is clear and factual, and I am glad it exists. This is a story about a young woman who competed, who won, and who is heading into the rest of her life having done both.

That is wonderful news, and I hope she knows how many people are cheering for her.

If there is a news story you would like me to cover then just let Sammy know.

Dr Helen Webberley is a gender specialist, medical educator, and founder of GenderGP. She writes about gender diversity, trans healthcare, and the lives at the centre of both.