Teenage wrestler takes transgender rights to the mat in Texas championship

High school athlete Mack Beggs, a transgender boy, competes in a state championship girls wrestling competition, in Cypress, Texas, U.S., February 24, 2017. Courtesy of Eric Schell/Handout via REUTERS

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - High school athlete Mack Beggs and many of his opponents want him to wrestle against boys, but the transgender boy on Friday wrestled in a Texas championship for girls because of state sport regulations on gender.

Beggs, 17, is transitioning from girl to boy, and the governing body for Texas school athletics has required him to compete by his birth gender, which is female.