He didn’t let his sexuality hold him back.
He’s wrestled most of his life and coached during college. He’s fit, with a bald head and long, salt and pepper beard. He had to withdraw from the tournament when he hurt a rib. He won a gold medal in a wrestling event this week.Īnother wrestler, 52-year-old Tim Gerken of New York jokes that he’s starting to show his age. It’s about finally….finally realizing…you have a family.”ĭermody loves that family so much, that he still wants to be on the mat with them. “My greatest satisfaction is to see the faces of all the guys and every one of them will tell ya, it was a life-changing experience – the first time in their life they are on a team. Like many of the men in the tournament, he says the Gay Games are his sanctuary. He’s stocky, with big muscles and just a few gray hairs. He was a closeted high-school wrestling coach then. Tournament organizer, Gene Dermody has been involved since the very first Gay Games in San Francisco 32 years ago. That’s because, more than being about sport, their participation is about change. About half of the 55 men in the Gay Games wrestling tournament don’t look like your average athletes.
