Sports
Eye on the podium
D.C.-area native finds focus balancing life, training
Benjamin Green says training is his outlet. (Photo courtesy Green)
When people take on the sport of triathlon, they are generally looking for the satisfaction of completing a race. Many find themselves hooked and facing an additional challenge in the area of time management.
Training for three sports, working a full-time job, juggling family commitments and trying to have a social life are things that all triathletes have to learn to manage.
Sprint triathlete Benjamin Green starts his Monday mornings training at the pool at 5:30 a.m. That is followed by teaching a spinning class at 7 which then segues into his work day in advertising. After work he trains with his students as a USA Triathlon level one coach and full-throttle endurance-racing coach.
And that’s just Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
On the off days, he can be found cycling through Central Park, running and competing in races at least once a month.
Green, who is gay, was born in Washington along with his twin brother, Patrick, who has cerebral palsy. Their father was never in the picture, so after their mother died when they were 3, both of the boys were taken in and raised by their grandparents in New Carrollton, Md.
Eventually they moved to Fredericksburg, Va., where Green attended Massaponax High School. He dabbled in swimming, baseball and soccer but found he was more interested in discovering what life had to offer.
After a few years at community college, he went on to finish his degree at George Mason University. It was there that he rediscovered sports and joined the university swim club and tri club.
It was also at George Mason that he discovered one more obstacle to be faced in his life. He was HIV-positive.
“I wasn’t going to let the loss of my mother or my HIV status, stop me from figuring life out,” Green says. “I believe in turning negative energy into positive energy.”
Shortly thereafter, he gave up the college partying and threw himself into training for his first triathlon at Lake Anna State Park.
“I bought a tri bike, worked with a coach and found myself hooked on the sport,” he says.
At the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, Germany, Green used his newly found base from triathlon training to compete for Team D.C. in four sports and brought home gold medals in triathlon and cycling and a silver medal in softball. He just missed a medal in his fourth sport of swimming with a fourth place finish in the 200 freestyle relay.
Now 32, Green has embraced life as an athlete. He has competed with his twin brother Patrick in three half marathons, pushing him in a specially built adaptive machine with wheels. Patrick has some mobility, but cannot speak.
“Patrick is my only blood brother and we have a very special bond,” Green says. “He loves doing anything with me and I think it is important for people to know that just because he has a disability doesn’t mean that he can’t have feelings and enjoy life.”
In 2011, Green took an internship with Viacom and moved to New York City where he has been tearing through amateur triathlon competitions with podium finishes becoming a near-constant.
This year he has podium finishes in 12 races including first place overall finishes at the Nations Triathlon in D.C., Stamford Triathlon, Brooklyn Duathlon and Coney Island Aquathlon.
At the 2014 ITU Aquathlon World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, Green competed for Team USA and finished in 10th place in the 30-34 age group.
Green has one more race left in 2014, the Key West Triathlon on Dec. 6, and then plans on moving from the amateur level to the elite level of triathlon races in 2015. There are also plans for another race with his brother Patrick next year.
“Competing in and training for triathlons is my outlet,” Green says. “I love being in the pool and I love riding my bike; I can ride for hours. I have already lived a pretty full life, but I need to keep this freight train rolling.”
Benjamin Green (Photo by Tom Henning Photography)
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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