Riley Gaines at the 2025 IFI Banquet

Riley Gaines is a former NCAA Division I swimmer who has become one of the nation’s most courageous voices defending women’s sports. Her advocacy isn’t theoretical. It comes from lived experience—and from conviction.

In 2022, Riley was forced to compete against and even undress beside a biological male, (Will) Lia Thomas, at the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. That moment didn’t just change her life—it awakened a nation to the injustice created by gender ideology.

Now a new mother, Riley continues to speak boldly about God’s design for men and women and the importance of truth. As she often reminds us: “There are two sexes. One sex cannot become the other. And each sex is deserving of equal opportunities, safety, and privacy.”

Her message is urgent and timely. Riley understands—as we do—the profound harm that follows when a culture rejects truth and embraces lies.