Runner who stepped off podium with trans athlete speaks out
'I knew that something needs to be done to bring attention to this issue and to let the people who are in charge know that us athletes are not okay with the position they put us in,' the 18-year-old told The Post.
On Saturday, Anderson, a senior competing for Tigard High School, took third place in the Oregon State Athletic Association's Girls High Jump Final while Lia Rose, a transgender athlete from Ida B. Wells High School took fifth. Anderson jumped 5 feet 4.25 inches, compared to Rose's 5 feet 1.65 inches.
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5 Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard stepped down off the podium in protest on Saturday.
America First Policy Institute
When the top eight jumpers took the podium, Anderson and fourth-place runner Reese Eckard, a senior from Sherwood High School, stepped down in unison and turned their backs in protest.
'I was definitely stressed just with all those eyes on you, kind of looking at you wondering what you're doing and why,' Anderson said. 'But all female athletes, no matter if they are in elementary school, middle school or high school … I want them to have a fair and equal opportunity to compete.'
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Going into the meet, Anderson knew that she wouldn't stand on the podium if Rose, who had competed in the boy's division in 2023 and 2024, placed. She and Eckart, who had been a 'friendly competitor' for the past four years, had already made a pact to step down together.
5 Alexa Anderson has been running track since she was a freshman in high school.
Alexa Anderson/ Instagram
She claims several other girls who made the podium had also intended to join, but backed down in the moment: 'It's a very controversial topic, and I think some people are more inclined to express their concerns privately.'
The crowd at Hayward Field reacted with silence, and an official confronted the pair. When they said they weren't participating, the official told them to step aside and get out of the way of photos.
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Even though she and Eckart were the only ones to take a public stand, she says Rose's presence in the sport had caused upset among her teammates throughout the season.
5 Anderson says several other girls on the podium planned to step down but ultimately backed down from the plan.
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'The overall sentiment was kind of confused and concerned for the integrity of our sport,' she explained. 'Girls I talked to were worried that their opportunities were going to be taken away, or that they wouldn't make it to the championship because there was a biological man that was jumping better than them.'
Since the incident, there's been an outpouring of private support, and Anderson reports receiving 'a lot of kind messages from people thanking me for standing up for what I believe in.' There have also been people who were less than kind.
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'Some people are definitely coming at me with a hateful attitude,' she admitted. 'There are people at school that are offended and are talking behind my back, but I expected that going into this, when I put myself out there on such a controversial topic.'
5 Anderson is committed to run track and field at the University of South Alabama next school year.
Alexa Anderson/ Instagram
Anderson, who joined the track team as a freshman, is graduating Thursday and plans to attend the University of South Alabama, where she will study exercise science and marine biology and is committed to run track and field.
She said she supports a federal mandate banning trans athletes from female sports. President Trump enacted one in February via Title IX, but states including Oregon have continued to allow athletes to compete nonetheless.
'Title IX was originally used to ban sex-based discrimination in sports, and now we're facing sex-based discrimination again,' Anderson said. 'Biological women are being forced to compete with biological men, but the purpose of Title IX was to make sure that it didn't happen, that biological women had their equal opportunities.'
5 President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports in February.
AP
Anderson is legally represented by American First Policy Institute. A staff member told The Post they called on the federal government to investigate possible Title IX violations related to Saturday's race and are considering further litigation.
'I have been an athlete my whole life, and women's sports has done so much for me personally,' she said. 'By allowing biological men to compete in the women's division, we're taking away opportunities from other young girls who have worked so hard to get to where they are.'
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