Riley Gaines' life was "flipped upside down" after she tied Lia Thomas in last year's NCAA finals. She thought she'd be in dental school but is a major voice trans athlete debate.
NASHVILLE – Riley Gaines thought she'd be entering her second year of dental school at this point in her life, not testifying in front of a Senate committee.
But her life was "flipped upside down" after she tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in last year's NCAA finals. "This experience, and really taking a public stance in common sense quite frankly, has drastically changed my life," Gaines told Fox News. "I still don't know what my future looks like," she added. "This is something I constantly pray about.
I just ask God to put me where I am needed. But my life, it's been totally flipped upside down." Since tying for fifth with Thomas in the 200-meter swimming championship last year, Gaines has become a central figure in the heated political battle over whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against biological females.