Athletes contest in first Gay 'Outgames'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Athletes contest in first Gay 'Outgames'*
Alasdair Sandford
BBC News, Montreal
Two medal winners embrace
Lovers and partners competed against each other
The first World Gay Outgames have ended in Montreal, where 12,000
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes came together for
a celebration of sport, culture and human rights.
It was more like a party than a closing ceremony. A team from Germany
held up cards spelling out "Merci Montreal". Up on stage, Liza Minelli
delighted the athletes with her renditions of Cabaret and New York, New
York. As the lights shone around the Olympic Stadium, some danced while
others embraced.
Mark Tewksbury, the Outgames' co-president and a swimming gold medallist
from the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, was visibly moved as he declared
the games closed. "Here we are not second class citizens," he said.
There had been similar scenes the previous Saturday, when some 40,000
spectators greeted the competitors in the same arena for the opening
ceremony. The tennis icon Martina Navratilova was given a rapturous
reception as she and Mark Tewksbury read out a new human rights
declaration in defence of LGBT people.
Three medals hanging outside building
There were outlandish shows of support accross the 'village' district
Montreal has not witnessed an event on this scale since the city hosted
the 1976 Olympics almost exactly 30 years ago. At the heart of the
"village" district, a kilometre-long stretch of the rue St Catherine has
been a continuous street festival. Companies pledged their support in
billboard advertisements everywhere. Huge rainbow flags hung from
balconies; others were pinned up in restaurant and shop windows. Medal
winners were congratulated by passers-by on the metro.
As often happens in amateur competition, the events themselves - which
ranged from athletics and powerlifting, to dancesport and bridge - often
attracted more participants and their friends than external spectators.
But for Mark Tewksbury, it didn't matter that the small rostrum in the
entrance hall to the Olympic pool had little of the grandeur of
Barcelona 1992.
Inside out
The Canadian also won gold in Montreal - seeing off a challenge from
Daniel Veatch, another former Olympian who swam for Team USA at Seoul
1988 - to win the 100 metres backstroke. Tewksbury documented his own
painful coming out process in the world of top level sport in his book
Inside Out. "The Olympics ask us to be better athletes," he said. "The
Outgames ask us to be better people."
Normally in these situations I say 'do you two fancy each other?' and
they separate straightaway
English referee
Sprinter André Mitchell from Toronto, where he's trained with former
Olympic champion Donovan Bailey, won five gold medals and one silver.
The American Lan Tritsch's time of 39.92 seconds for the 100 metres may
have been 30 seconds outside the world record - but it was no mean feat
for an 81-year-old, and he too won gold in his age group.
On the whole the games ran smoothly, despite the odd hiccup - such as
when Dutch athlete Agnes Elling turned up for the women's 100 metres
hurdles to find she was the only competitor.
Some competitions pitted lovers and partners against each other. Fabrice
from the Paris-Lyon Arc-en-ciel football team found himself marking his
boyfriend Sebastien, playing for Belgium's Pink Devils. The French
team's 7-0 victory failed to damage their relationship.
During the same match the whistle blew after some pushing and shoving in
the penalty area. The English referee took aside the two offending
players. "Normally in these situations I say 'do you two fancy each
other?' and they separate straightaway," he chided them. "In your case I
suppose I'll just have to say 'at least wait till afterwards'."
Mission accomplished
Confusingly for many people, the Outgames are distinct from this year's
Gay Games which took place in Chicago last month. These were originally
due to be held in Montreal but were moved after a series of disputes
between Gay Games officials and the Montreal organising committee.
Opening slogan lit up
The motto of the games was displayed at the closing ceremony
Outgames competitors came from more than a hundred nations, including
several developing countries thanks to a special bursary programme. Not
all went as planned: a team from Cameroon - a country known for its
repression of homosexuals - was refused entry by Canadian immigration.
The motto of the games was "We play for real". For the organisers, they
have been about fostering tolerance in sport to enable gay and lesbian
athletes to compete openly, free from discrimination and exclusion.
Martina Navratilova said the Outgames were important to "let the
heterosexual community know who we are and what we're all about". In
Montreal it's certainly a case of "mission accomplished".