Sports
Team D.C. athletes capture 231 medals at Paris Gay Games
Area swimmers shatter 15 IGLA records at quadrennial summit
Washington-area athletes at this month’s Gay Games in Paris. (Washington Blade photo by Kevin Majoros)
The 10th edition of the Gay Games ended on Aug. 11 in Paris. About 10,000 athletes from 91 countries vied for medals in 36 sports.
Athletes from Team D.C. hauled in 231 medals in 13 sports with the swimmers from District of Columbia Aquatics Club leading the way with 121 medals. The swimmers competed at the swimming venue of the 1924 Olympics and D.C. swimmers shattered 15 IGLA (International LGBT Aquatics) world records.
“I think Team DC represented very strong and we had a very diverse group of athletes. I am so proud of everyone,” says Brent Minor, founder and executive director of Team D.C. who was attending his seventh Gay Games. “It was nice meeting people who were competing at the Gay Games for the first time. These Games completely reinforced my belief that this event is good for our community, especially on an international scale. It’s nice to be reminded of that every four years.”
A couple things noted this year were that Team D.C. had sports couples competing together in swimming, rowing, golf, tennis, road running and volleyball.
Also noted from conversations with athletes from around the world is that some older athletes are switching to sports that have less impact on their bodies. Their desire to compete is still strong and they are finding new sports to remain tied to the Gay Games.
The next edition of the Gay Games will be contested in Hong Kong in 2022 and marks the first time that the event has been held in Asia.
A Gay Games reunion and celebration party is in the works for mid-September for all the D.C. athletes and their friends.
Below is a list of the Team D.C. medal winners.
Swimming
Sara Hewitt – 3 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze
Craig Franz – 6 Gold
Jay Fisette – 4 Gold, 4 Silver
Matt Kinney – 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Logan Dawson – 3 Gold, 2 Bronze
Barry Haddan – 4 Gold, 1 Silver
Neill Williams – 6 Gold, 1 Silver
Noura Hemady – 5 Gold, 3 Silver
Dawson Nash – 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
Amr El-Sayed – 6 Gold, 1 Silver
Patrick Barrett – 2 Gold, 1 Silver
Tommy Scibilia – 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Jerry Frentsos – 8 Gold
Jeff Mead – 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Jay Calhoun – 3 Gold
Corey Carlisle – 3 Gold, 1 Silver
Kevin Majoros – 3 Gold
Arthur Staub – 3 Gold
Jack Markey – 2 Gold, 1 Silver
Brent Quinn – 1 Silver
Eric Czander – 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
John Tustin – 1 Gold
Drew Fitzmorris – 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Greg Koch – 1 Gold
Fred Dever – 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze
Open Water Swimming
Jay Calhoun – 1 Gold
Drew Fitzmorris – 1 Bronze
Craig Franz – 1 Gold
Soccer
Earl Armstrong – 1 Silver
John Corr – 1 Silver
Geoff Duvall – 1 Silver
Emory Ellis – 1 Silver
Jim Ensor – 1 Silver
Ross Furbush – 1 Silver
DJ Holland – 1 Silver
Oliver Jacob – 1 Silver
Ian Jenkins – 1 Silver
Kyle McAleese – 1 Silver
Alex Paterson – 1 Silver
Kevin Smith – 1 Silver
Zach Straus – 1 Silver
Mark Summerside – 1 Silver
Kevin Taylor – 1 Silver
Scott Teribury – 1 Silver
Brandon Warner – 1 Silver
John Whitfield – 1 Silver
Craig Williams – 1 Silver
Track & Field
Jeff Dutton – 1 Bronze
Allison Brager – 8 Gold, 1 Silver
Thomas Nguyen – 3 Gold, 1 Bronze
Prakash D’souza – 1 Bronze
Scott Teribury – 1 Silver
Road Running
Lennie Carter – 1 Bronze
Grace Thompson – 1 Silver
Joan Bellsey – 1 Gold
Maura Hackett – 2 Bronze
Fencing
Andrew Byun – 1 Bronze
Golf
John Guzman – 1 Gold, 1 Bronze
Steve Sparks – 1 Bronze
Paul Sliwka – 1 Bronze
Triathlon
Leslie Hill – 1 Bronze
Hunter Gaiotti – 1 Bronze
Bryan Frank – 1 Gold
Philip Deeter – 1 Bronze
Bowling
Matthew Todd-Adrik – 1 Bronze
Tennis
Reese Scott – 2 Gold
Tim Murphy – 1 Silver
Mateo Barney – 1 Bronze
Robbie Cao – 1 Bronze
Vincent Travaglione – 1 Bronze
Rowing
Jeff Morrison – 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Steve O’Banion – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Joey Bowman – 1 Silver
Pedro Falto – 2 Silver
Brian Hackney – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Joseph McGuirk – 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Berin Szoka – 1 Bronze
Samir Bitar – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Jude Graham – 1 Silver
Rondel Milton – 1 Silver
Nate Swinton – 1 Silver
John Lucier – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Lindsay Cochrane – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Volleyball
Bill Christmas – 1 Gold
Mike Snyder – 1 Gold
John Wang – 1 Gold
Jason Tolton – 1 Gold
Alex Benjamin – 1 Gold
Jesse Anderson – 1 Gold
Gabriel Saucedo – 1 Gold
Eric Brielmann – 1 Gold
Will Hansen – 1 Gold
Steve Post – 1 Bronze
Kevin Galens – 1 Bronze
Kent Hansen – 1 Bronze
Michael Gordon – 1 Bronze
Adam Bocek – 1 Bronze
Tim Claus – 1 Bronze
Jack Fleming – 1 Bronze
Kyle Anthony – 1 Bronze
George Atiyeh – 1 Gold
David Chang – 1 Gold
Joshua Schwartz – 1 Gold
Austin Bowen – 1 Gold
Tyler Jacob – 1 Gold
Lynn Katoa – 1 Gold
Julian Dawson – 1 Gold
Tim Mechlinski – 1 Gold
Basketball
Tim Francis – 1 Silver
David Monroe – 1 Silver
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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