Riley Gaines
Riley Gaines is the former NCAA swimmer who became one of the loudest voices in America against transgender women competing in women's sports, and she's not backing down.
Riley Gaines is a former University of Kentucky competitive swimmer who rose to national prominence after finishing tied with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships in the 200-yard freestyle. What happened next lit a fuse: Gaines has stated that Thomas was awarded the trophy for photos while she was sent away empty-handed, and she turned that experience into a full-throated advocacy career.
Since then, Gaines has become a prominent conservative activist, speaking at universities, appearing on major news outlets, and partnering with organizations like the Independent Women’s Forum and Turning Point USA. She has testified before Congress, met with lawmakers, and traveled the country arguing that biological males should not compete in women’s sports, a position that has earned her both fierce support and fierce opposition.
She is married to Louis Barker, and the couple welcomed their first child in 2023. Gaines is openly Christian and frames much of her advocacy in terms of fairness, faith, and the protection of women’s spaces. She has described her public role not as something she sought out, but as something she felt morally compelled to take on.
Searches for Riley Gaines spike regularly around major legislative battles over transgender sports bans, campus speaking events (some of which have turned confrontational), and her ongoing media appearances alongside figures like Charlie Kirk and Tucker Carlson.