A transgender rich kid with a famous grandfather has faced scrutiny after winning a hotly contested track race in California – where she beat her own sister.
Lina Haaga, who was born as Paul Haaga, came first in the women’s varsity 400 meter race at the Prep League Championship Finals last week, reports Reduxx.
Haaga, who attends the ritzy $48,900-a-year Polytechnic School in Pasadena, finished the race at 59.45 seconds – narrowly beating her own sister Sienna, who is in the grade above.
The win on April 29 was Lina’s personal best in the 400-meter relay.
The 14-year-old was also part of the school’s 400 meter relay team during the competition, helping the team bring home the gold in that race too.
Sienna, her sister, attends Flintridge Preparatory School, which costs $50,750 a year.
They are the grandchildren of the former CEO of NPR, Paul Haaga Jr.
Pictures posted by the school’s athletics team showed Haaga smiling as they announced her double win.
Lina Haaga, who was born as Paul Haaga, came first in the women’s varsity 400-meter race at the Prep League Championship Finals last week
Haaga (far right) was also in the winning girls’ relay team for the Polytechnic School in Pasadena
But the news, first reported by Reduxx, caused a stir online. One commenter wrote: ‘Is it really satisfying to be 5 seconds slower than a mediocre male runner and take a gold medal away from your own sister?’
Another said: ‘Sad for California girls. Be nice if sanity returned.’
And a third added: ‘Imagine sending your daughter to a school that costs $50k per year and having to deal with this nonsense.’
But others came to Haaga’s defense: ‘Good luck to Lina. Seems like a nice girl and she’s having a great season. It’s fun to see children competing, having fun and doing her best.’
Haaga transitioned from male to female at a ‘young age’ and has participated in a plethora of girls’ sports teams, including basketball, swimming, water polo, and tennis.
In a highly sympathetic profile published in The Guardian earlier this year, Haaga said that people’s aversion to trans players in women’s sport has been ‘scary.’
She said she feels robbed of the precious ‘moment of bliss’ when participating in sports because she fears what people will think when she plays against girls.
Haaga said: ‘The political climate has put into question my relationship with sports.
‘Instead of it being something innocent I can just enjoy without fear of being discriminated against, I’ve had to now worry every time I step on the track or the court that somebody might disagree with my participation.
Paul Haaga Jr., the former acting President and CEO of NPR, is pictured right with his wife Heather. He used to be the Chairman of the Board of Capital Research and Management Company, which manages over $3 trillion in assets and equity
‘That’s been really scary, because it’s started to steal something that’s precious for me – that moment of bliss.’
The trans girl said she will continue to play in women’s sports as an ‘act of resistance.’
She told The Guardian: ‘Playing sports and loving being out there on the field is in its own beautiful way an act of resistance.’
Haaga is the grandchild of Paul Haaga Jr., the former acting President and CEO of NPR.
He is also the former Chairman of the Board of Capital Research and Management Company, which manages over $3 trillion in assets and equity.
Haaga Jr is currently the chair of the Facebook Oversight Board.
Lina Haaga’s family have been contacted for comment.
The Trump administration is suing the California Department of Education and the CIF, claiming that their trans-inclusive sports policies violate the civil rights of cisgender athletes.
Last year, California’s Governor Newsom broke with party lines and said that trans athletes competing in women’s and girl’s sports is ‘deeply unfair.’
