Sports
Amazing Grace
Local trainer rediscovers passion for sports, training for Gay Games
Grace Thompson is training for the Gay Games this summer. (Photo courtesy Thompson)
While growing up in Washington, Grace Thompson competed in several sports including basketball, cross country and swimming. As is often the case, her schedule during her college years at Notre Dame of Maryland University left little time for sports.
After college, Thompson co-founded Embody Pure Fitness in D.C. and provides corporate wellness, nutrition counseling, small group training and personal training. It was through one of her clients that she rediscovered competitive sports.
“One of my clients asked if I would train her for a 5K run,” Thompson, a lesbian, says. “That led to a 10K and a 15K and shortly thereafter, I joined the D.C. Frontrunners.”
Since then, she has competed in everything from 5Ks to Ragnar Relays to a marathon. In 2011, she began competing in kettlebell competitions. Kettlebells are cast-iron weights that resemble a cannonball with a handle. The competitions have similarities to weightlifting.
At the World Kettlebell Lifting Championships in 2011, she placed first in the 12KG Long Cycle division. After sitting out 2012 because of a bike crash, she came back in 2013 to place second in the 14KG Long Cycle division.
This August, her love of running will take her to Cleveland for the 2014 Gay Games where she will compete in the marathon and either the 5K or 10K.
“I absolutely enjoy the energy I feel from running,” says Thompson, 30. “I love that I can train by myself or with a group of friends. It is so simple to just grab a pair of running shoes and go.”
Her training leading up to the Games will consist of two yoga sessions per week, weight lifting two days a week and running three times a week with her focus being on strength and endurance. Racing will be limited to the Pride Run 5K and possibly a half marathon in Atlantic City.
Earlier this year, Thompson experienced one of the new hazards in road running during the George Washington Parkway 10 Miler.
“A woman in front of me stopped dead in her tracks and was wearing headphones, so she didn’t realize I was behind her. I had to take a dive to avoid her and basically did a face-plant. She kept on running like nothing happened. I finished the race, but was a bloody, sweaty mess.”
For her first Gay Games experience, Thompson is looking forward to connecting with LGBT athletes from around the world and experiencing the level of competition and camaraderie.
“I can’t wait to meet fellow athletes who are in it for the sport of it. It’s going to be empowering.”
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.
Iran, Egypt play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’
PHOTOS: Frederick Pride Parade
Carla Hall goes from ‘Top Chef’ to the stage
‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’
D.C. has a chance to lead on equitable transit through AVs
LGBTQ political candidates see surge in threats, harassment: report
Queer candidates, allies win Md. primary races
Trump holds housing bill hostage to anti-trans SAVE Act
Judge blocks DOJ from obtaining transgender patients’ medical records
Religion, spirituality, and humanity: finding meaning in a complex world
-
2026 Midterm Elections5 days agoLGBTQ political candidates see surge in threats, harassment: report
-
Maryland5 days ago
Queer candidates, allies win Md. primary races
-
Federal Government5 days ago
Trump holds housing bill hostage to anti-trans SAVE Act
-
New York5 days ago
Judge blocks DOJ from obtaining transgender patients’ medical records
