Two teams brought gold back to Chicago, and many individuals shined too as Gay Game 9, the eight-day sports and cultural extravaganza, culminated Saturday, Aug. 16 in Cleveland.
The Chicago Rowing Union ( CRU ) captured the gold medal in the Men's Four with Coxswain race, the club's first-ever Games gold. CRU also won gold in the Women's Four race, in a combined boat with member of the Pioneer Valley Pride Crew from Massachusetts.
The Chicago Gay Hockey Association ( CGHA ), meanwhile, captured gold in ice hockey, the team's first Games gold in club history.
"It always feels great to win gold," said Bill Moudry, CRU president. "For me, the journey is more important, [which includes] the hours of practice, honing technique, building physical and mental fitness, and gelling with teammates. It all adds up to an incredibly rewarding experience that only a sport like rowing can offer, so winning gold is just the icing on the cake."
This was CRU's second entry in the Gay Games—the first was in Chicago in 2006, the year the organization was started. "We've come a long way from the novice team we were then," Moudry said. "We have come a long way as a team, making great strides in our competitiveness."
Moudry admitted it was a mix of "confusion and disbelief at first" when the team learned it was golden. "We had just gotten off the water from [another] race when a teammate told us we had taken gold in the 4+ event, so I was pretty exhausted," he said.
CRU's gold came on a 1,500 meter race with two turns along the course, making it a challenging race for the coxswain. "They raced us two boats at a time, and then compared our times across all heats to determine the winner," Moudry said. "As with most masters' races, handicaps were factored in for each boat based on the average age of the rowers in the boat."
There were six boats in this event, and CRU's main competition was the DC Strokes, which raced in the same heat.
"The start was good, though DC had the slight edge after the first few strokes," Moudry said. "A couple hundred meters in, before the first turn, DC crossed into our lane, [which was] a fairly significant penalty. Our coxswain steered a tight course and we finished strong, a few seconds behind the DC boat. However the combination of our handicap and the penalty on DC put us solidly in first-place.
"Since ours was the first heat of the event, we had no idea where we would place until every other heat had raced and the times were finalized. The race really underscored for me the importance everyone in the boat plays, rowers and coxswain alike."
And for Moudry, the gold certainly had extra personal meaning—he was in the same boat with his boyfriend, Matt Honaberger.
"It's fun, and convenient, to have something like rowing in common with my boyfriend. But when we are in the same boat, we are teammates first and boyfriends second," Moudry said. "Of course it's a great feeling to experience this together, but we achieved this as a team, including everyone else in the boat, and other teammates motivating us at practice and coaches challenging us work hard and improve."
Moudry and Honaberger, 36, have known each other for 10 years, been CRU teammates for four years and dating for about a year.
CRU brought 12 members to Cleveland and all members of the gold medal-winning team are gay.
Joshuah Thurbee, 38, admitted that, when he first heard CRU had won, he didn't believe it. "I wanted to [believe it], but it seemed too good to be true," he said. "Our team has worked hard and I'm proud of us as a team. I'm also proud of myself. I've only been rowing a short time. I never really considered myself an athlete. With the help of this team and our amazing coaches, I'm redefining who I am. It turns out that person is strong, athletic, and a gold medalist."
Adam Boltz, 30, also was in "disbelief" when he heard CRU was golden.
"Once it sank in that it was real, it was an emotional high that didn't stop the rest of the day," he said. "We have a tradition that you can wear a medal that you win for the rest of the day, so everywhere we went, people were so excited for us. I felt like a rock star."
Paulo Dennis Son, 43, said he was "overjoyed" with the gold. "Winning created a special bond with my crew," he said.
The CGHA captured the title in the top-tiered Men's Advanced Division, which had only two teams. The Chicagoans defeated the LA Blades 5-2 in the championship game.
"It was a great event; the host city was very hospitable [and] everything seemed to go off without a hitch," said Andrew Sobotka, 28, who is the CGHA president and plays defense. "I would have liked more hockey players [participating]. In comparison to some of the other sports it always seems like there aren't enough hockey players."
CGHA goalie Nick Lang had a "phenomenal tournament," Sobotka said.
"Winning at the Gay Games is extra special to me and the team because it was the first time at the Gay Games for most of us," Sobotka said. "There were a few times when we were taking too many penalties [during the tournament], but we managed to keep our emotions in check and play a great few games."
And the team celebrated by singing Whitney Houston [songs] in the locker room.
The CGHA is hold a Gold Medal Welcome Back Party on Friday, Aug. 22 at Crew Bar + Grill, from 8-11p.m.
In other Gay Game 9 news, most with a Chicago tie:
—Paul Gembara captured gold in the men age 40-49 ( tested ) division of bodybuilding. Illinois resident Gregg Valentine placed fourth in the men age 50-59 ( tested ) division.
—Olympic speedskater Blake Skjellerup showed he's a star on a bicycle, too. Competing in the 18-34 male division, he won gold—and also while in Cleveland, he became engaged to Saul Carrasco. Singer Ricky Martin event Tweeted congratulations on their engagement.
—Flag football drew only three teams, representing Denver, Boston and Cleveland.
—Billy VanRaaphorst, a California resident, won golf gold. He is most known as a baseball umpire who worked the College World Series this past June in Omaha, Nebraska.
—Anna Comella, 28, finished second in the triathlon ( Olympic distance ). She finished in 2:31:25, which was about three minutes behind the winner. Dana Litoff, 30, was third.
—Andrew Favreau, 33, finished sixth in his triathlon age-division ( 30-34 ).
—Kristine Gregory, 35, from Montgomery, Illinois, was first in the 35-39 age-group.
—The Windy City certainly was well represented in the tri male age 35-39 division. Nic King Ruley, 36, was fourth overall; Mikey Apuada, 37, was sixth; Jeremy Voigt, 37, was 12th; and Scott Damon, 36, was 14th.
—In the male 40-44 age division, Michael Keele, 42, captured the third-place bronze, while Rob Campbell, 41, was seventh, and David Brown, 44, was 12th.
—Sam Stephenson, 45, won the silver in the 45-49 male division, while Steve Figg and Bernard Bartilad were 13th and 14th, respectively.
—Cliff Massie won the silver in the 50-54 age division, while Kevin Pope, 50, earned the bronze. Lawrence Manuel, 50, was eighth in the division.
—In the sprint distance triathlon, Kelly Niemaszyk won gold in the 25-29 female age group.
—Tanya Lyonsford, of Aurora, finished fourth in the 45-49 tri age-group.
