Sports
Let the Gay Games begin
Cleveland prepares for its close-up after controversies
Les Johnson and Team D.C. expect to field a strong contingent at next year’s Gay Games in Cleveland. (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)
The two quadrennial international sports competitions taking place in 2014 — the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the Gay Games in Cleveland — couldn’t be setting more dissimilar tones.
Though it hasn’t been without its own controversies, next August, organizers of the Cleveland Gay Games are prepared to welcome the LGBT athletes that Russia vows to muzzle.
Rob Smitherman, sports and operations director for Cleveland’s Gay Games 9, said that, even as much of the western world begins to embrace LGBT rights, the continued need for the Gay Games couldn’t be more obvious since Russia and the IOC have begun warning athletes not to attempt to test the nation’s new anti-gay “propaganda” law.
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“People need a place to come to feel that they are safe and to express themselves fully,” Smitherman said. “To be who they are, not feel like they have to hide in any way. And it’s still important.”
He said athletes from around the world still contact him saying they can’t compete and be open anywhere besides the Gay Games.
“Even in the United States and Europe, we still need this. For the kids in small towns and states like Alabama.”
Atlanta-based 10-year hockey veteran Chuck Hagel — who will be attending for the first time as an official and a participant with his group Gay Hockey International — said the games are much different than other traditional, non-sporting events because they are inclusive of people of all ages, ability levels, and even include a focus on non-competing attendees.
“This particular event is incredible because it brings together athletes of all different playing levels, different types of sport,” Hagel told the Blade, adding that the games are perfect for those who may have felt less included or sidelined in other championship events. “Promoting athleticism and camaraderie at all different age groups.”
Smitherman touts the walkability of all of the venues from the official 30 host hotels in Cleveland and Akron offering registrants special rates through the Games’ site. Early bird registration ends Sept. 1, but Team D.C. announced in its Facebook group a special discount through Sept. 15 for Team D.C. members.
Team DC President Les Johnson — who attended the 2010 games in Cologne, Germany with more than 100 other Team D.C. participants as a bowler — said that for most athletes at the Gay Games, competing is about “personal best.”
“It’s something that ordinary people don’t experience,” Johnson said of experiencing the festive and affirming spirit of the Gay Games. “Getting that medal really means a lot because you’re competing against all of your peers”
“Cleveland is going to be totally different because we can drive to Cleveland,” Johnson said, contrasting it with Cologne. Johnson said Team DC could bring more than 500 athletes.
Ten percent of the 11,000 expected attendees have already registered. Most competitive events are free for spectators, making this an ideal getaway for LGBT sports fans — assuming there are hotel rooms left.
“People need to get a move on and get registered,” said Smitherman, who has attended and played basketball in four Gay Games.
Smitherman said participants should be excited about the non-sporting events too, with opening ceremonies at the home of the Cavaliers basketball team, Quicken Loans Arena, and closing ceremonies taking place at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — all within walking distance of the hotels.
Pink Flamingo is an event that many who attend Gay Games look forward to, where aquatics teams compete for prizes performing synchronized swimming routines in outrageous costumes.
“It’s kind of a highlight of the games every time,” said Smitherman.
Besides official Gay Games events, Johnson said the games always feature a multitude of unofficial parties every night around town, and Smitherman said that his group is working with local theaters and galleries to offer even more cultural opportunities. Additionally, the Gay Games is partnering with the International Gay Rodeo Association to bring an event to Akron as part of the festivities.
Smitherman said the Gay Games 9 organizers are eager to move on after a previous group, the Synergy Foundation, had its license revoked by the Federation of Gay Games, which the Washington Blade reported on extensively.
“Our organization is a gay organization that has a really diverse board. We have straight people on our board,” Smitherman tells the Blade, saying while their involvement with the Gay Games ended abruptly, had it not been for Synergy Foundation, Cleveland would not have won its bid for the games against other the larger cities competing, including Washington, D.C. and Boston. “We’re way past the drama of ‘who should host the games.’”
Johnson said Russian athletes also plan on taking part in the Gay Games.
“I’m not for boycotting personally, but it does seem some kind of action needs to take place,” Johnson said regarding the legal quagmire faced by athletes, coaches, personnel, trainers and fans heading to Sochi, where any demonstration of support for LGBT people could be penalized.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
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