Sports
Breaking barriers for non-binary athletes
G Ryan finds success in the pool and the classroom
G Ryan identifies as non-binary or genderqueer and swims on the women’s team at the University of Michigan. (Photo courtesy G Ryan)
When G Ryan started competitive swimming at age 12 in Kutztown, Pa., they found it entertaining, fun and a way to meet people. They never considered that it might be a path to being an NCAA athlete.
That all changed when they won the 800m freestyle at the USA Swimming National Championships at age 15 and followed that up with gold and bronze medals at the Pan Am Games.
Their coach, Erik Posegay, took a coaching position at North Baltimore Aquatics Club and Ryan left home to train with the team that produced Michael Phelps. They would finish high school in a cyber program offered through their public high school in Kutztown.
“I am the youngest child and it was really challenging for me to leave home,” Ryan says. “Kutztown and Baltimore are very different places and a lot changed in a short period. It was the right decision though because my club results led to the University of Michigan.”
Ryan wrapped up their junior year at Michigan this past spring with their most successful year yet in the pool. Two-time NCAA All-American, three-time Big Ten champion, NCAA Championships finalist – the list goes on and includes academic achievements.
When they start to discuss what it means to be a part of an NCAA Division 1 swimming program at a powerhouse Big 10 school, their tone fills with enthusiasm.
“We have talked through what we want to accomplish with the first-year swimmers coming in this fall and how we want to guide and shape what the team looks like this year,” Ryan says. “There will be shared responsibility and I am very excited to step into that role and share my experiences.”
G Ryan not only has swimming experiences, but also life experiences that include coming to understand where they are on the gender spectrum. Ryan identifies as non-binary or genderqueer and swims on the women’s team at the University of Michigan.
“When I arrived at Michigan, I didn’t have an extensive education about identity and I didn’t have the vocabulary to express how I felt,” Ryan says. “I hung out with my brother growing up but I never identified as one of the guys. I occupied that role as a tomboy and I held on to that feeling.”
Ryan began using the LGBT resources at the Spectrum Center on campus and started the education process along with building a strong network of people for support.
“The first time I was asked “what is your pronoun” my whole world opened up,” Ryan says. “I thought that even the trans community had binary roles.”
The LGBT resource center has given Ryan the opportunity to interact with people who have similar identities. In the binary world of athletics, they realize that for now, they need to be able to embrace both sides.
“Explaining my identity, especially in athletics, is difficult and there are days when I am exhausted by trying to move through the world as a binary person,” Ryan says. “I am just taking it one step at a time and accepting that it is OK that there are days when I don’t want to leave the house.”
Ryan understands that the system and structure for sports is in place, but also believes that changes towards more inclusion are always worthwhile.
Putting gender-inclusive bathrooms at natatoriums, bringing awareness to the fact that trans athletes are competing and including non-binary athletes in discussions are all topics being discussed for recommended practices for USA Swimming.
Support has come from the University of Michigan athletics department in the form of pronoun usage in team emails and the language they use, along with acceptance from teammates and their coach, Mike Bottom.
“Swimming has granted me many things and I wouldn’t be at the University of Michigan without it. Despite the challenges, I am totally committed to my team and finally connected to the community I am a part of,” Ryan says. “Everyone’s identity is valid and it is possible to have team athletics along with your own individual identity.”
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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