2nd-Place Runner in High School Race Rips Maine GOP Lawmaker for Attacking Trans WinnerLink to Full ArticleCommon Dreams - Brett Wilkins
May 15, 2025
A high school runner in Maine who finished second to a transgender competitor at a recent track meet said this week that a Republican state lawmaker's "hateful" crusade targeting trans athletes—not the fact that she had to compete against one—dampened her sporting joy.
Anelise Feldman, a freshman at Yarmouth High School, finished second to Soren Stark-Chessa, a multisport standout at rival North Yarmouth Academy, at a May 2 intramural meet.
"I ran the fastest 1,600-meter race I have ever run in middle school or high school track," Feldman wrote ... "I am extremely proud of the effort I put into the race and the time that I achieved. The fact that someone else finished in front of me didn't diminish the happiness I felt after finishing that race."
Feldman stressed: "I don't feel like first place was taken from me. Instead, I feel like a happy day was turned ugly by a bully who is using children to make political points."
"No one was harmed by Soren's participation in the girls' track meet, but we are all harmed by the hateful rhetoric of bullies, like Rep. Libby, who want to take sports away from some kids just because of who they are."---------------------------------------
The
full article is a good one to read.
Kudos to Anelise Feldman, who shows what sports in school are all about, to teach good sportsmanship. Anelise Feldman shows what a good sport she is.
The article also states that Rep. Libby is currently banned from voting on legislation until she apologizes for endangering a transgender high school runner by posting a photo of her winning a race without blurring the face. Libby has also misgendered trans athletes and portrayed them as violent and dangerous during a legislative hearing earlier this week.
