"A fantastic advocate for saving women's sports" - Riley Gaines lauds Martina Navratilova on her 67th birthday

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines has wished tennis great Martina Navratilova on her 67th birthday and praised her for being a strong advocate for women's sports.

Former WTA World No. 1 Navratilova has been a strong proponent of women's sports. She has constantly spoken against the inclusion of trans athletes in women's events, something that Gaines also fights for.

Navratilova was vocal about controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas dominating the women's division, where Gaines also competed. She also criticized the United States Tennis Association after transgender tennis star Alicia Rowley won the coveted 'Golden Ball'.

The Czech-American turned 67 years old on October 18 and was greeted by many on social media, including Gaines, who praised her work while sending her best wishes.

"And a fantastic advocate for saving women's sports. Happy birthday to you @Martina!!! #SaveWomensSports," she posted on X (formerly Twitter)

---

Riley Gaines 'declares' October 10 as Real Women's Day

Former NCAA swimmer and women’s rights activist Riley Gaines has stated that October 10 should be celebrated as the 'Real Women’s Day' after reputed sports media outlets celebrated Women’s History Month in March by glorifying stories of trans women athletes.

Gaines' fight against trans women began when she lost to trans athlete Lia Thomas at the NCAA finals in the women's 200-yard freestyle event. This year, ESPN produced a video featuring Thomas' persistence and struggles.

Gaines found it unfair for organizations to celebrate the achievement of trans athletes in Women’s History Month and said in a video posted on social media:

"I noticed a common theme and that theme was that in places where we were supposed to be honoring women, we were honoring men, who are claiming the identity of a woman."

She added:

"Now why October 10th? October 10th is the 10th day of the 10th month, which in Roman numerals is XX, and if you took fifth-grade biology, then you know XX is the female chromosome."

The 23-year-old Gaines also filed a petition for the same and shared a link urging her followers to sign it.