Sports
DC Aquatics win world title
Swimmers take 11th championship in Seattle competition
Members of the DC Aquatics Club recently returned home from a competition in Seattle. (Blade photo by Kevin Majoros)
The District of Columbia Aquatics Club (DCAC) recently returned home to DC after competing in the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championships (IGLA) in Seattle. Since winning their first IGLA world title in 1995, DCAC has been hard to beat, racking up a total of 10 IGLA titles. The championships are held each year with every fourth year off during the year of the Gay Games. The only teams that have managed to defeat DCAC since 1995 are New York Aquatics, Paris Aquatique and Team Florida.
“We were happy to see New York Aquatics step up and take the title in 2012,” said swimmer Neill Williams after DCAC came in second in Iceland. “But we will do what we can to win it back in 2013.”
The DCAC team showed up in Seattle with 69 swimmers in tow on Aug. 12 for five days of racing in 51 events. There were 38 teams from around the world competing at this year’s championships.
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Over the past two decades, DC Aquatics has had a large core of strong swimmers who have continued to swim fast into their 40s, 50s and 60s. This year’s meet in Seattle saw the emergence of a new crew of 20 and 30-year-olds, to compliment the older swimmers, including some strong female swimmers. Points are scored by age groups in five-year increments. Each age group competes in all 51 events and each person is limited to five individual events and four relays.
After two days of racing, DCAC held a small lead over New York Aquatics. On day three, the records started to fall and the strength of DCAC’s relays proved too much for the New York team. The DC swimmers pulled away in commanding fashion to win their 11th IGLA championship in the large team category. The Long Beach Grunions won the medium team category and the Philadelphia Fins won the small team category.
Also on hand from DC for the championships were 12 players from the Washington Wetskins water polo team. After several matches during the week, the Wetskins captured 5th place in the water polo competition. The championship match was won by San Francisco Tsumadre.
Other sports contested during the week were synchronized swimming, open water swimming and diving. The diving events included a judging appearance by Olympic diver, Kent Ferguson.
After all the pool events are concluded, IGLA always wraps up with the ever popular Pink Flamingo Follies. The event is a judged pool deck and water performance set to music and is generally filled with camp and drama. The DC Aquatics performance was set in the Emerald City Starbucks and told the story of Dorothy and Glinda falling in love despite the attempt by the evil dominatrix Wicked Witch of the West to take Dorothy for herself. After getting married, the happy couple rode off into the sunset on blow up Orcas accompanied by their Speedo-clad entourage. DCAC was awarded second place for the performance.
Next year there will be no IGLA, but DCAC will be in Cleveland for the Gay Games.
My DCAC teammates showed determination, endurance and camaraderie during the week of IGLA. Each race was a fight for the wall especially seen during the relays when most everyone posts times faster than their individual swims. Also, a big thank you goes out to the Washington Wetskins for joining us in the swimming events to make our presence even more formidable.
I would also like to share a couple things about my teammates who are among the people that are breaking down stereotypes about the LGBT community. I am referring to the stereotypes that still exist about our athletic abilities and the things that define us as human beings. Jeff Dutton and his partner, Kei Koizumi came to compete in Seattle directly from competing at the Out Games in Antwerp, Belgium in swimming and track & field. Brady Phillips and his partner Matthew Hoffman came to compete in Seattle after five days of hiking in the Cascades Mountains. And Dana Connors wrapped up his week of swimming by heading off to compete in a full Ironman Triathlon.
And finally, Michael Parisi, who brought hundreds of people to their feet during his swim in the grueling 200-meter butterfly. There is a special bond that happens between people when the human spirit triumphs over the limits of the human body. The moment Parisi hit the touch pads at the end of his swim; he was a hero to everyone in the natatorium.
Congratulations DC Aquatics. See you in Cleveland.
Results of IGLA are at www.igla2013.org. Videos can be found under the CCE Sports Network tab.
DCAC can be found at www.swimdcac.org.
The full list of medal winners can be found at the online version of this story.
DCAC Medal Winners:
Missi Duprey 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Garret Garborcauskas 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
Noura Hemady 6 Gold, 3 Silver
Sara Hewitt 4 Gold, 3 Silver
Alison LaBonte 2 Gold, 2 Silver
Katie Lancos 1 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze
Elizabeth Lester 3 Gold, 3 Silver
Molly Lincoln 9 Gold
Erin Maehr 7 Gold, 2 Silver
Janna McDougall 3 Gold, 3 Silver
Sarah Quincy 6 Gold, 2 Silver
Charlotte Schou 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Meridith Stakem 7 Gold, 2 Silver
Ellyn Vail 3 Gold, 3 Silver
Lindsey Warren-Shriner 9 Gold
Lucas Amodio 9 Gold
Peter Beard 1 Silver
Ted Bockius 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
Jason Bricker 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
Justin Burkhardt 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Dana Connors 1 Gold, 1 Bronze
David Crane 4 Silver, 1 Bronze
John Crowe 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
Jose Cunningham 6 Gold, 3 Silver
Nicholas Davidson 3 Gold, 1 Bronze
Fred Dever 2 Gold, 6 Silver, 1 Bronze
Steven Dickens 1 Silver
Andrew Frampton 3 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze
Craig Franz 2 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 Bronze
Brendan Garvin 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Greg Gentry 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Eric Grasha 4 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze
Todd Harvey 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze
Geoff Heuchling 7 Gold, 2 Bronze
Jonathon Horsford 2 Gold, 1 Bronze
Robert Jeter 2 Gold, 2 Bronze
Matthew Kinney 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze
Erich Klothen 1 Gold, 2 Silver
Kei Koizumi 1 Bronze
Joseph LaBriola 6 Gold, 3 Silver
Ross Linderman 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze
Kevin Majoros 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Jeff Mead 5 Gold, 4 Silver
WonKee Moon 6 Gold, 1 Silver
Dawson Nash 1 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze
Sedric Nesbitt 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Michael Parisi 3 Bronze
Kris Pritchard 2 Gold
Paul Quincy 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Matthew Quinn 1 Gold, 3 Bronze
Brendan Roddy 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze
Michael Saxvik 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
Evan Schlank 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze
Dustin Sigward 6 Gold
Sam Smedinghoff 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Fraser Smith 1 Silver
John Tustin 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
John Vail 1 Gold, 6 Silver 2 Bronze
Peter Volosin 7 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Neill Williams 9 Gold
Stanford Young 4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
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.
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