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Transgender teenager Mack Beggs has won a Texas state championship wrestling competition for females, after he was forced to compete outside his gender because of a policy passed in the state last year.
Beggs, his family and many of his opponents wanted him to wrestle against male wrestlers, but state sport regulations require athletes to compete according to their birth gender.
Some of the 17-year-old's opponents have said he had an unfair advantage among girls because of the testosterone he is taking as a part of his gender transition.
The state education code in Texas allows the use of a banned drug such as steroids if it "is prescribed by a medical practitioner for a valid medical purpose".
Beggs, who had a 52-0 record ahead of the weekend tournament and was favoured to win the high school championship in his weight class, beat Chelsea Sanchez 12-2 to take home the trophy.
Beggs' appearances during the competition were met with mostly cheers and just a handful of boos, but some parents made it clear they thought it was unfair he was competing against girls.
Lisa Latham's daughter faced off with Beggs during the meet and lost — after her mother tried to convince her to back out of the match.
"I wanted her to forfeit as a protective mum," Ms Latham told ESPN.
"She's a fighter. She's not a quitter. She's a senior. She's fought for the last three years to get here.
"She was going to see it through even though I wasn't sharing the same opinion."
'We just want to wrestle'
About a week ago, Beggs won a regional championship after a female wrestler from a Dallas-area high school forfeited the final.
Nancy Beggs, the wrestler's grandmother, told the Dallas Morning News after the forfeit: "Today was not about their students winning. Today was about bias, hatred and ignorance."
The parent of another girl filed a lawsuit trying to block Beggs, saying his use of testosterone increases his strength and could pose a risk to opponents.
After his victory, Beggs told reporters he wanted the focus of Saturday's championship to be on his teammates rather than him.
"The hard work that I put in the practice room with them beside me … I would not be here without them," Beggs said, backed by his team and wearing a gold medal around his neck.
He also addressed the controversy on Facebook on February 19, writing he was "sick and disgusted" over the discrimination shown by parents and coaches.
"These kids don't care who you put in front of them to wrestle," he wrote.
"We just want to wrestle. They are taking that away from me and from the people I'm competing with."
Win comes after Trump revokes bathrooms rights
This was a sentiment echoed by triathlete Chris Mosier, who was the first transgender athlete to represent America.
He wrote on Twitter: "Mack Beggs is a just kid who wants to compete in the sport he loves. Texas gave him two options: wrestle with girls or quit. He wrestles."
Mosier is also the founder of transathlete.com, which provides information for transgender athletes.
According to the website, Texas is one of seven US states with policies it sees as discriminatory against transgender athletes.
Beggs' win came days after the Trump administration revoked landmark guidance to public schools letting transgender students use the bathrooms of their choice, reversing a signature initiative of former Democratic president Barack Obama.
Reversing the guidelines stands to inflame passions in the conflict in the US between believers in traditional values and those advocating for LGBTQ rights.
AP/ABC
Topics: rights, sport, wrestling, united-states
First posted