Gay Swimmer breaks world record at Outgames
A world record in swimming was broken last week at the 1st World Outgames in Montréal’s Olympic Pool, when openly gay American swimmer Daniel Veatch set a new record time in the 200 m backstroke in the 40-44 age category.
Veatch, who lives in San Francisco, logged in a time of 2:14.83, edging out the previous record of 2:15.49 set in 1999 by another American swimmer, William Speicht.
Veatch is an Olympic athlete who competed at the Seoul Games in 1988. The 200m backstroke is his speciality. In Seoul, Veatch finished 7th.
“I’m really excited to have broken this record and to find myself in the pool with my good friend and former competitor, Mark Tewksbury,” said Veatch of his achievement.
Veatch and Tewksbury competed against one another at the world championships in 1986 -20 years ago.
In other Swimming news, Australian Daniela Osiander finished first in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m races in the 40-44 years age category. In the 100 m, she crossed the finish line with a time of 13.79 seconds (the world record from 1988 is 10.49 seconds). With her Team Sydney, she won the gold in the 800 m Mixed Medley Relay and the Women?s 4 X 400 meters.
“I’m blown away by the quality of the organization of the Montréal Outgames,” said the athlete who just recently participated in the Chicago Gay Games in July, as well as in Sydney in 2002.
Swimming competitions at the Outgames are sanctioned by the Quebec Swimming Federation. The record set by Veatch is in the process of being registered with FINA, the international swimming governing body.
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