Sports

I’d never seen ringworm until I visited the wrestling venue. One athlete had it and proudly showed me the rings on his neck as a badge of courage. Wrestlers get ringworm from dirt on the mats, and it’s a big deal: No street shoes are allowed on the competition floor, and wrestlers are inspected for […]

Sadly, there have been a couple major injuries at the Gay Games. During the 5k race on Thursday an unnamed 58-year-old man suffered an apparent heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital. On Sunday, Hector Torres (right), 32, suffered a crash on his bicycle during the Triathlon and had to be taken […]

Justin Fashnau All-Stars (click for larger view). It's hard to miss the Justin Fashnau All-Stars on the soccer pitch. The team is clad in distinctive pink shirts, a color picked deliberately to highlight the team's fight against homophobia in soccer. The team is named after English soccer player Justin Fashnau, who came out as gay […]

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon out at track and field, covering the 100-meter medal races, which included the German sprinters seen here. Check out the track photo gallery. I spent a good chunk of the afternoon out at track and field, covering the 100-meter medal races, which included the German sprinters seen […]

Ash Martin The West Hollywood water polo team has someone watching over their shoulders at this year's Gay Games. The players are all wearing tattoos on the shoulders that honor Tom Martinez, their longtime coach who died of a heart attack while swimming in 2008. "Tom was very instrumental in helping build the team," said […]

While the Gay Games are a great beacon for out gay athletes, there is also no shortage of wrestlers in Cologne who are afraid of coming out in their personal or professional lives. One wrestler, who is a high school wrestling referee, said that if parents in his area found out he is gay they […]

I spent the evening Monday at one of the most popular event at the Gay Games — bodybuilding. While the medals were given out to athletes from their 20s to 70+, all are tentative contingent on the medalists passing a drug test. Had a great time meeting Mark Ebinger of Denver, who wrote about his […]

Bjarni Snaebjornsson If my experiences with members of Styrmir Reykjavik the past two years is any indication, the 2012 International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics championships in Iceland will be a blast, and no one will have to bring toilet paper. Reykjavik will host the event, May 30-June 2, 2012, it was announced at the Gay […]

It was quite a day Monday for divers Andrew Kasney and his partner Kai Robinson. In the morning, Kasney won gold in the men’s 3-meter springboard while Robinson took the bronze. They then won the gold in pairs diving, which was more of an exhibition since there were no other competitors. But given their morning […]

On Day 3 we took a trip to watch the A-division men's volleyball and badminton. We joined John Amaechi courtside at an A-division men's tennis doubles match. And we cringed as men and women tried to lift double their bodyweight. Check out our photo gallery here. On Day 3 we took a trip to watch […]

The organizers have done a great job developing a public central area where the athletes congregate. At night, and even to an extent during the day, thousands of people crowd the streets (blocked off from traffic) of the “Bermuda Triangle,” where you’ll find many of the gay bars. There are tents selling drinks and food, […]

When he is the final stretch run for a bodybuilding contest, Brian Mooney of Team DC lives on 1,199 calories a day. That’s the equivalent of a Big Mac, medium fries and large Coke as his entire food intake. Plus 1/2 a liter of water. "I can get crabby and irritable," said Mooney, as his […]

Matthew Mitcham has reached the sporting heights by winning an Olympic gold medal in diving. Yet his experience at the Gay Games has been equally emotional. "I've cried twice since I've been here," Mitcham told the crowd at the Gay Games Opening Ceremonies. The last time that happened was when he won the gold in […]

I spent most of the day on the outskirts of Cologne watching the Triathlon. The Gay Games feature two distances: Olympic and Sprint. These men and women are dedicated: Most didn’t go to the opening ceremony because the races started at 7am and 10am. What did I find there? Possibly the fittest bodies at the […]