"I cried as she cried" - Riley Gaines reacts to heartbreaking confession of 14-year-old girl who lost to alleged transgender athlete in a track meet

Riley Gaines recently reacted to an 8th grader Ahnaleigh Wilson's confession who lost to an alleged transgender athlete in a track event at the Junior Olympics, earlier this year. Wilson expressed her frustration and disappointment, highlighting the challenges she faced even after the race.

Wilson competed in the 1600m race at the 2024 Junior Olympics in Cashmere on 18 May. However, the freshman at Eastmont High School settled in second place after being surpassed by an alleged transgender athlete from Liberty Bell High School with a margin of seven seconds.

Following the incident, Wilson and her parents raised their voices in protest against what happened. The freshman publicly reflected on her experience for the first time during Sunday’s Lincoln Day Dinner event at the Wenatchee Convention Center, stating her family faced backlash for expressing their dissent.

"I noticed that this athlete was built very differently than all of the other girls but I didn't think much of it because we were on the starting line and we were about to race," Wilson said during her speech. "It wasn't until we were on the podium that I heard the commotion of upset adults and kids...that is when I heard that the athlete that was standing next to me in the first place podium was a biological boy."

Gaines, a vocal advocate for fairness in women's sports, empathized with the girl's experience and wrote:

"A few weeks ago I met and listened to Ahnaleigh Wilson, a 14-yr-old girl who lost a track meet in Washington state to a boy," Gaines wrote. "I cried as she cried. She was failed by the adults who were supposed to protect her."

"My hero" - Riley Gaines backs Ahnaleigh Wilson after the 8th grader receives online backlash

Following her speech at Sunday’s Lincoln Day Dinner event, Ahnaleigh Wilson received huge backlash online. However, Riley Gaines stepped up to support her.

The former University of Kentucky swimmer shared a screenshot of a few hateful comments against the freshman and highlighted the incident as irony by referring to it as "the so-called party of tolerance".

"This is just a little glimpse of the comments grown adults are leaving for a 14 yr old girl to read. So much for the so-called 'party of tolerance.'"

Gaines added:

"Ahnaleigh is my hero."

Riley Gaines has been a fervent dissenter of transgender athletes competing in the female category since her experience at the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships when she tied with transgender athlete Lia Thomas for fifth place but was denied recognition.