Track Star’s Dreams Diminished by Transgender Rules

Alanna Smith, a teenage athlete from Connecticut, recently lamented that her standing in high school track has been diminished because of boys competing as transgender girls in her sport.

In an interview with the Washington Times, Smith insisted that it just isn’t fair that her placing in track is lower than it would be if she didn’t have to compete against biological boys.

“When I didn’t have to run against biological males, I felt I had a chance,” the 17-year-old girl said. “Whether I came in first or fifth place, I knew that was the spot I deserved. Now it’s dispiriting to know who is going to win.”

Smith is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed last year against Connecticut after the state changed its rules to allow competitors born as boys to compete as girls in school sports. The conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom is spearheading the suit, but there is little support from the left-wing state’s political establishment.

The teen told the Times that she hopes Connecticut would follow the lead of the state of Mississippi after the Magnolia State enacted a law limiting people who claim to be transgender to competing only in categories that correspond to their birth gender.

“I would hope Connecticut would get on board, but there are no signs of that,” Alanna told the paper.

“Alanna runs 100 meters in 12 seconds, which is fast by nearly anyone’s standards. But the athletic standards in her family are higher than most others,” the paper noted. But it isn’t enough to beat boys.

“I’ve worked hard with my uncle, and he used to monitor my times and stuff,” Alanna confessed. “He was the one who suddenly started noticing these other times and said, ‘Wow! Where did these times come from? She’s really good.’ And then he realized they were boys competing.”

Smith, who was born in Louisiana and moved to Connecticut when she was five, said her family supports her lawsuit.

“My coach and my teammates all support what I’m doing, but we don’t really talk about it much,” she exclaimed. “The backlash comes mostly on social media from people I don’t even know.”

“I just want fairness to be made in all women’s sports,” she said. “This isn’t fair, and I only have a few seasons,” Smith concluded.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.