The over All trnunl lllins ut the liuv Games BY LYNN McNIcoL ive Vermonters, all of them over 40, participated in the _ Gay Games this summer, and all brought home medals. Richard Alther of Ferrisburgh has returned to competitive swim- - ming after a ten-year absence - and with great success. At 66, Alther has jumped back into swimming and won four gold medals; in 100, 400, 800 and 1,500- meter races at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. Swimming freestyle, or crawl, in each one, Alther also won the silver medal for his 200- ‘ meter race, which he lost by half a second. He competed in the men’s 65 to 69 age category. “I trained all year,” said Alther, who is retired and so has recently had the time to devote‘-to swim- ming. “lt’s wonderful to get totally immersed” in other activities be- sides a career, said Alther, who ,__retired as co-owner of Country Home Products in Vergennes. Growing _up” gay, “he said,»was hard on his self-esteem, and he in- temalized feelings of inadequacy. While he excelled in scholastics, Alther was not particularly ath- letic. ~ — Originally from the New York area, he remembers summers at his grandparents camp on Lake Champlain near Otter Creek. He was naturally a good swimmer _ and later was chosen for the swim Participating in the opening and closing ceremonies were the most gratifying part of ‘ going to the Gay Games, affirming of me as a gay world—class athlete. some GARDNER, CHA_RLOf§§_'E» versity, but was not enthusiastic tive spom as his “revenge of the about it at the time. Alther did not choose to get involved in competitive sports until a business colleague im- a number of medals at the sec- pressed him with her enthusiasm about her swimming competition. He joined her group, meeting for swim practice every morning at 5:30 at St. Michael’s College in C01- chester. When, at the age of 44, Al- ther swam in first competition, Hriirigiiig éalaatce ti: ’f¢’n_z". ’ ‘From Ndturé ‘ " Fteiist seen fiieeieiiris c ffieraeuetié Massage -* Hereét Mealcthe Aairienne deéuevara PE-I ‘Base 592 F’:.=‘sne‘;'. Vernient E25346 892 337 5531 (802) 655-3377 X223 (800) 639-4520 x223 J ackicMarino@verizon.ne'i £1, #1 RFITEVIAX North JACKIE MARINQ REALTOR JACKlEMARlNO@VERlZON . NET W North Prxxfessiotmis ’_». Professionals for 2005; “Out.” afid serving our .= comtnnnity since 1989, it was a momentous occasion. ' “For the first time I felt strength When Alther heard about the Gay Games coming to Chicago in physically,” Alther said, referring July, he decided the time was right team as afreshman at Cornell Uni- to his entrance into competi- for his return. Competing in the I_. to Elizabeth Campbell, Esther Rothblum (now of San Diego), Beth Mintz and Joan Gardner line up for opening ceremonies. far right: Richard Alther. PHo'i'os PROVIDED -Five llermnnters Bring Home medals Games were initially to be held. Repp joined Alther at the games, “as my private cheer squad,” Alther said. Asked if athletes are made . . rather than born, Alther answered “ab- solutely!” “Swimming over 100 me- ters is mostly mental,” he said, accom- plished by pacing oneself and focusing on teclmique. As for s W i In m i n g competitively, “I’m going to keep going,” Alther said. He plans to nerds.” _ He competed nationally for the next. 10 years, including Winning ond Gay Games in San Francisco in 1986, and at the New York Gay Games in 1994. Shortly after that, however, he stopped competing as a swimmer as he “got too involved in business,” and did not compete again until this summer. five events — the maximum num- ber allowed - was “intense,” Alther said. It was necessa1y to eat prop- erly and get enough rest during the week’s events. Alther and his partner, Ray Repp, decided they preferred the Gay Games to the Outgames in Montreal, due to their disappoint- ment over the dispute between Gay Games organizers and orga- nizers in Montreal,‘where the Gay participate in the May 2007 National Masters Championships, an annual meet. Beth Mintz of Burlington, and Esther Rothblum, formerly a pro- fessor of psychology at UVM, now living in . San Diego, have been playing raquetball together for 25 years, but mostly for relaxation, Mintz told OHM. They traveled to the Gay Games to compete to- CONTINUED ON P.22 -) AVMOST WONDEKFUL _ vemo~r‘exPemeNce1 ratio a mu-:al<:‘i.xst A WNKEEPEKS MARY souvrex 5. MOIKA nonovzw *QUl£T. ROMANTIC CETAWKY "i.0CN[€D IN THE HEART OF \/EKMONVS SKI INDUSTRY *Cl'V§L UNION HA\/(N! WVV\N.DONOMAKl NN.C0‘M 802-64-4-Z937 MFFEKSONVILLE. \/I April’s KITCHENS . BATHS . REMODELING .\.~ ’ 802-310.7579 Today’s Technology, Yesterday’s Craftmanship www.aprilshomeimprovement.com aprilshomerepair@aol.com Serving Chittenden County and Surrounding Areas ‘ w ._ _,,;«».z.u«.a..uL-51.... .. ".-r. .~-,,-_ ,_.._- 2*