By Daijah White / Sports Editor

Former University of Kentucky Swimmer and current Activist, Riley Gaines brings her journey to Marshall, Missouri to continue to fight for women in sports. She spoke at the 2025 Lincoln Day Dinner, an event organized by the Salt Fork Pachyderm Club and the Saline County Republican Central Committee, with over 500 people in attendance. The event was held at the Martin Community Center on Wednesday evening. 

Gaines began swimming at just four years old and competed until the age of 22. During her college career, she won an individual SEC title, helped lead Kentucky to its first-ever team SEC title, and placed 7th in the nation during her junior year in 2021. All of these accomplishments fueled her next goal.

“I had a goal to win a national title which would of course mean becoming the fastest woman in the country in my respective event,” said Gaines. 

In 2022, she competed in the 200-yard women’s freestyle event at the NCAA Swimming Championships. After tying for fifth place, Gaines did not receive the trophy. It was instead awarded to Lia Thomas, a biological man who is transgender. Thomas was in her senior year of collegiate swimming, but her first year competing on the women’s team for Penn.

“It was really at that point when I realized I could no longer sit idly by and wait for someone else to say something for us because that is kind of what I was doing up until this point,” said Gaines. “So really the unfairness, the locker room, the silencing, all those things compiled to where I felt it was necessary to use my voice to speak out against this injustice that female athletes were facing.”

After her experience in the National Championship where she was supposed to be living her dream, Gaines said she felt so betrayed. Quickly after, she stopped swimming, and began campaigning for Women in sports. Her main message that she wants to pass is very clear.

“Women are worthy and it’s really that simple,” said Gaines.

Gaines and her team now travel the country sharing her story and encouraging others to speak out. She acknowledges the difficulty for athletes who may want to opt out of competition when conditions feel unfair but insists that, in cases like hers, boycotting has proven to be the most effective form of protest against biological men participating in women’s sports.

At the time she said there was no way she was not going to compete. After all the time she put into swimming, coming off of her Individual title and placing 7th in the nation, she competed along with all the other women that qualified for the NCAA Championship, against a biological male that went on to win a National Title in another Womens event. She found it very unfair and stood up for herself and all the other women at the event. 

 “To be very clear here the stand that I have taken is not one that’s against anyone or against any group of people,” said Gaines. “I’m standing for women.”

Gaines believes she is speaking for many others when she shares her story of losing to a biological male in women’s sports, especially in today’s day and age. While she expects backlash, she credits her parents for instilling the values of leadership and self-advocacy, which made it easier to stand firm in her beliefs.

“Not to say the pushback doesn’t exist,” said Gaines. “But the support has always been so much greater than any of the pushback,” said Gaines. 

Gaines continues to travel and advocate for her story and other girls because she feels there is no other way it will be done. She says with everything she has been through, she discovered her passion for her political activism and wishes she found it sooner.