A look back at Gay Games VIII via Living In the Queer Times: Richard Sypniewski

Living In the Queer Times covered the preparation of athletes and artists for Gay Games VIII last summer, as well as the Games themselves. As we approach the first anniversary of Gay Games VIII, we'll be posting snippets from these articles.

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The Road To Cologne | Richard Sypniewski

I am a 41 year old single gay man living in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood and will be competing for the second time in the Gay Games 2010 in Cologne Germany. I caught the triathlon bug several years ago when first introduced to the sport with my friends from graduate school at Kellogg. There we competed in a team where I was always chosen to be the swimmer because no one wanted that leg of the race. Swimming in Lake Michigan was not everyone’s idea of fun. I soon loved the sport and began competing in Chicago’s annual triathlon every year for the past 5 years racing the complete Olympic distance. I first competed in the Gay Games 2006 in Chicago. This was an amazing time. The city and organizers did a terrific job of making every aspect of the games truly “Olympic”.

Keep reading HERE.


Update: Richard completed the triathlon in Cologne wiht a time of 03:05:00.