Female sports advocate Riley Gaines is counting her blessings these days, which are more precious to her than a lifetime of trophies accumulated over her accomplished collegiate swimming career.
The former Kentucky Wildcat welcomed her first daughter to the world on Thursday, saying, “God has blessed” their burgeoning young family. She held her daughter, named Margot, next to her husband, Louis Barker, in new photos posted to social media.
“There’s nothing that could’ve prepared me for a love like this. God has blessed us beyond belief. Welcome to the world, sweet Margot,” Gaines wrote in the caption.
Gaines, 25, hasn’t settled down since hanging up her swim cap. She was 31 weeks pregnant when she swam the 1.25 miles from San Francisco to Alcatraz while surrounded by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs, combat veterans, and her husband in the event that any emergency occurred.
The celebrated conservative speaker announced her pregnancy at a Turning Point USA event in Texas back in June. She pivoted to the good news after responding to criticism from Olympic medalist Simone Biles that she has the body of “a male” as the two feuded over social media about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“How many men do you know that have this,” she responded, showing her baby bump and sonogram images.
“The next generation that our little girl is going to be a part of, that is who you all are fighting for and who Turning Point is fighting for. And so from a father-to-be, thank you, keep fighting … and thank you,” Barker told the audience.
Biles, 28, later offered an apology to Gaines.
“I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport. The current system doesn’t adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges, and it didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for,” Biles said in the post.
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Gaines graduated from the University of Kentucky as a 12-time NCAA All-American. She received her degree in health sciences but pivoted to political activism as a debate raged around Lia Thomas, the transgender former swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, who dethroned dozens of female athletes while winning championships that Gaines raged were patently unfair.
A social schism over the future of trans athletes in women’s sports was stitched shut in February when the NCAA aligned with the Trump administration, publishing new guidance that permitted female competition to only those assigned female at birth. Gaines emerged as a conservative hero who helped deliver the No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order to Trump’s desk.
