Riley Gaines is a female competitive swimmer on the University of Kentucky team. Gaines believes the integrity of single-sex sports should be protected. Because of this, she recently spoke out after tying with Lia Thomas, a biological male, at the NCAA Championships.
On Thursday, April 6, 2023, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines said she was assaulted on the campus of San Francisco State University. Gaines was at the school to speak about her views opposing the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports, according to the event announcement. “I was physically assaulted by one person” (why don’t you read more about her attack here?).
In the wake of her attack gaining traction and garnering mixed reactions on Twitter, many are curious to know more about her life, including but not limited to her career, education, statistics, family, and personal life. Here’s everything we know about her.
Biography
Riley Gaines is an American professional swimmer. She is also a cutthroat swimmer in freestyle and butterfly positions. She is a three-time NCAA Championship qualifier and the U.S.
Gaines’ love of swimming started, like most young women at this level of their careers, when she was just a toddler. But by age 12, she had started to “separate from the kids in her age group” in races.
“I would have parents come up to me to congratulate me because I was breaking pool times,” she said. “It progressed from there. In high school, swimming became my passion.”
Fast forward four years, and Gaines accepted a spot on the Kentucky Women’s Swim Team. She chose UKY for the swimming culture, positive coaches, and amazing team. It didn’t hurt that it was only three hours away from home.
Gaines has grown to become a successful swimmer who has achieved many accolades during her college career, including being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and earning All-American honors.
Riley Gaines’s personal and family life.
As of March 2023, Riley Gaines is known to be married. She is married to Louis Baker. The couple has been sharing some lovey-dovey photos of themselves on their verified social media handles.
In one of these posts, Riley shared a photo of herself and Louis and added the caption;
“So this means I get to call @louis_charlie_barker my husband forever? Lucky me! You make me a better person everyday and I couldn’t be more thankful for you and your unconditional love. I got myself a country British boy, brb living every girl’s dream”
Gaines and Baker do not have kids together.
She was born on September 7, 2000, to Brad and Telisha Gaines. As of 2023, Riley is 23 years old. At the moment, not much is known about her mother and father. Her religion is Christianity.
About her body measurements, she stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 meters). Not much is known about her weight.
Riley Gaines Career.
In November of 2021, Gaines came across an article on Swim Swam that mentioned a female swimmer who had achieved an exceptionally fast time in the 200-yard freestyle. This time was considered a national record, and Gaines was impressed by it. However, as she continued to read, she began to feel concerned about the inclusion of male-bodied athletes in women’s competitions.
Gaines believes that allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports will compromise the integrity of female sports and make women more vulnerable. She is not alone in this belief, as many female athletes in the SEC and Ivy League share her concerns.
Despite the controversial nature of her stance, Gaines enjoys the full support of her school to speak out on this issue. She emphasizes that her objection is not personal and is not directed at any transgender individual. Instead, she opposes the policies of athletic governing bodies that allow male-bodied athletes to compete in female sports.
Overall, Gaines and other female athletes are speaking out to preserve the spirit of women’s sports and ensure that they remain fair and competitive.
Riley Gaines launched an attack against Lia Thomas.
Gaines believes the integrity of single-sex sports should be protected. Because of this, she recently spoke out after tying with Lia Thomas, a biological male, at the NCAA Championships.
Riley Gaines remembers the moment at the 2022 NCAA Swim Championships when she watched Lia Thomas race for the first time. It was the 500-yard freestyle.
“I remember watching it, and [Lia] destroyed everyone,” Gaines said. “I was standing right next to the girl who placed 17th, which means she didn’t make it to the final or get to be All-American, when Lia touched the wall. She just looked at me and had tears in her eyes and she told me, ‘I just got beat by someone who probably didn’t have to try this morning.’”
Thomas, who swam for three years on the University of Pennsylvania Men’s Swim Team as Will Thomas before switching to the Women’s Team as Lia last fall, has made waves in and out of the pool for breaking records and for the devastation to female athletes left in Thomas’s wake.
Gaines, who swims for the University of Kentucky, describes that day as heartbreaking and somber. She later would race Lia in the 200-yard freestyle, tying for 5th place.
She’s all about fairness in Women’s Sports
In November 2021, Gaines was reading an article on Swim Swam that mentioned a female swimmer who went 1:41 in the 200y freestyle. That time was so fast, it was considered a national time. The name of the swimmer: Lia Thomas. It was a name that Gaines didn’t recognize.
“Being a top swimmer on the collegiate league, you recognize the tip-top and know who they are. I clicked on the article and was like, Lia Thomas — I have never heard of her. The article at the time didn’t mention being a transgender.”
After more digging, Gaines and her coach realized the truth. “At this point I was like, ‘What, there’s no way this can be a nation-leading time if she’s not a biological female.’ I was worried about if she would be allowed to swim at the NCAA’s.”
The NCAA avoided making a firm decision about Thomas’s eligibility until three weeks before the start of the Championships. It was an agonizing wait-and-see game for Gaines and her teammates. And then, the NCAA released a statement: Thomas would be allowed to compete.
The decision didn’t sit well with Gaines. She feels it was made out of a fear of backlash.
“I don’t see how people don’t see the blatant issue with it,” she said. “It has nothing to do with being transphobic. There’s no doubt [that Lia has] worked hard and sacrificed. You can’t do this sport and not do those things. But it’s just amazing to me that it got to this point. People are not fully grasping the severity of it.”
Gaines believes that allowing male-bodied athletes to participate in women’s competitions will destroy the integrity of women’s sports and leave women vulnerable.
“Seeing a biological male win a national title in a female sport, that’s an opportunity that so many people could take advantage of unless action is taken, and things can be implemented to prevent that from happening.”
Gaines is an outspoken athlete who enjoys Speaking Up and Speaking Out
Unlike many of the female swimmers in the SEC and Ivy League, Gaines has the full support of her school to speak out.
“I’m really grateful for the support from the University and [for] allowing me to speak out,” she said. “My team and my coaches have both been so supportive. Not once have they told me that I couldn’t speak.”
Gaines says she has no personal animosity toward Lia or any transgender individual. Her objection is to the actions of the athletic governing bodies.