Riley Gaines

Born

Riley Marie Gaines (born April 21, 2000), also known as Riley Gaines Barker, is an American political activist and former swimmer, recognized for her advocacy against the inclusion of trans women in women's sports. A 12-time NCAA All-American, Gaines competed for the University of Kentucky's NCAA swim team before retiring from athletics to focus on her activism.

Since 2023, she has hosted the weekly podcast Gaines for Girls on Outkick and Fox Nation.

Early life

Gaines was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, in a family with a strong sports background. Her father, Brad Gaines, played football at Vanderbilt University, while her mother, Telisha Gaines, played softball at Donelson Christian Academy and Austin Peay. Gaines attended Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 2017, during her junior year, she won the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle events at the TISCA High School Swim & Dive Championship in Knoxville.

College Athletics

Gaines joined the University of Kentucky’s swim team and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2019. She also earned spots on the All-SEC Second Team in both 2019 and 2020. At the 2021 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, she placed second in the 4 × 200-yard freestyle relay and seventh in the 200 freestyle, earning a place on the All-SEC First Team that year. Additionally, Gaines qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 and was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2022.

In 2022, during the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship, Gaines tied for fifth place with University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who had made history as the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA women’s championship in the 500-yard freestyle. Gaines later revealed that Thomas had shared a locker room with the female swimmers while still having male genitalia, and that the championship trophy was initially intended for Thomas "for photo purposes," leaving Gaines to receive her own trophy later by mail. This incident marked the beginning of Gaines’s activism.

Activism

Gaines has been a vocal advocate against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports. In April 2022, she lobbied her state representatives to pass a law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.

In September 2022, Gaines appeared in a TV ad supporting U.S. Senator Rand Paul's campaign, where she expressed her opposition to trans women in women’s athletics.

By January 2023, Gaines had taken part in a protest at the NCAA Convention, appeared in campaign ads for former U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and spoken at a rally for Donald Trump.

In March 2023, Gaines was invited to speak at a Texas Senate committee hearing, where she voiced her support for legislation aimed at prohibiting transgender college athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity.

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