Riley Gaines had big plans for her life: she was going to graduate from University of Kentucky, go on to dental school, become an endodontist, and ride off into the sunset with her husband and dog by her side.
All that changed when, at the last meet of an illustrious collegiate swimming career, she came face to face with a challenge that she knew was going to impact young female athletes for years to come unless someone — someone like her — stood up and said “no more.”
Gaines never planned a life of activism. She told The Daily Wire that her plan was to go to dental school and study endodontics — laughing as she admitted she would be the one responsible for performing universally dreaded procedures like root canals.
“But I quickly learned that the fastest way to make God laugh was to make plans for myself,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Riley Gaines
Gaines came from a family of athletes — a father who played football professionally, a brother who played college football, and a sister who is a gymnast — so it was no surprise that she made a name for herself as an athlete as well. The pool was where she shined, and after years of training, she was ready to compete in the NCAA finals — wearing blue for…
