Sports
Countdown to the Gay Games
Swimmer Todd Harvey is already veteran champ for D.C. Aquatics Club
Todd Harvey says being in the water is his ‘runway walk’ time. (Washington Blade photo by Kevin Majoros)
When Todd Harvey was living in Austin, Texas, he was looking to get back into the sport of swimming but was unable to find a team that was a good match for him.
At the end of 2012, his job in public health administration at the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors moved him to Washington and he was still itching to get back in the water.
“I didn’t know many people here,” says Harvey, 34. “Besides wanting to get back into swimming, I wanted to expand my friendship base in a healthy way.”
He joined the District of Columbia Aquatics Club within a few months of moving to D.C. and has already proven himself a valuable asset to the team winning nine medals at the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships in Seattle last August.
Harvey grew up in Uniontown, Pa., and went through the sports of soccer and wrestling before discovering swimming at age 10. He joined the local YMCA, fell in love with the sport and went on to captain his high school swim team.
This August, Harvey will compete at the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland in the 50, 100 & 200 butterfly, 50 backstroke and 200 freestyle. His training leading up to the Games will consist of swimming four-to-five times a week, weightlifting and solidcore training.
Harvey remains dedicated to the sport of swimming for a number of reasons.
“I think the best thing about swimming as an adult is that I have found an incredible team,” says Harvey. “DCAC is a serious group of well-trained, amazing athletes, who push one another to put forth their best efforts in the pool. We also do a lot of things socially and provide emotional support for one another when it is needed.”
One thing that seems to be a common denominator for all competitive swimmers, Harvey says, is the love of the rush that comes right before a race. There is no time for mistakes in a race and the desire to perform their best puts pressure squarely on the shoulders of each swimmer.
“Swimming is my time to feel athletic and fit. I love being able to measure myself now versus my old self. There is no better feeling than when you feel good in the water. It’s my runway walk and I feel strong.”
This will be Harvey’s first Gay Games and he is looking forward to experiencing the LGBT athletic community, swimming fast and seeing Cleveland from a new perspective.
He also gamely admits there will be a fun side to the proceedings as well.
“I am really looking forward to the on-deck gossip. Who met who, who did what and did you see what he looks like in that Speedo?”
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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