"Less than mediocre man in the pool with us"- Riley Gaines claps back at Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez for comments on losing to Lia Thomas

Riley Gaines recently responded to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments on her former career as a swimmer. The Democratic politician had taken a jibe at her performance in the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships, where she stood tied at fifth position with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

In her recent interview with Fox News, Gaines reflected on Ocasio-Cortez's comments and wondered why she continues to back someone like Lia Thomas. She also maintained that in the end, it is not right to force the inclusion of men in women's sports.

Gaines mentioned her in statement,

"I just cannot understand this line of argument that the Democratic party is using. It doesn't matter that I finish first, fifth or 55th in the nation, okay?

Gaines further elaborated on her point as she added,

"The problem is not me, the problem is not my athleticism or my insecurity, the problem is that we had a six-foot-four, less than mediocre man in the pool with us, and it's not just me who thinks that. It's not the Republican party who thinks that either, even 60% to 70% of her own party, the Democratic Party, agrees that it's wrong to put men's in women's sports."

Riley Gaines represented the University of Kentucky as a collegiate swimmer from 2019 to 2022. She had won a silver medal at the 2021 NCAA Championships and had won four medals at the SEC championships from 2019 to 2022, including two consecutive gold medals.

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All about the online controversy between Riley Gaines and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The online feud that emerged between Riley Gaines and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [Image Source : Getty]

The controversy between Riley Gaines and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez emerged a couple of days ago, when the Democrat politician was campaigning for the Democrat candidate of the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani. The meet also includes Bernie Sanders, a veteran politician from the Democratic party.

Gaines reacted to the situation by sharing an image of the same on her X account. She wrote in the caption of her X post (formerly Twitter),

"We're being destroyed from within"

Ocasio-Cortez responded by writing on her X account,

"Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth."

Despite the massive backlash she received for the statement, Ocasio-Cortez continued to mock Gaines for her career. However, the swimmer-turned-social activist did not take this lying down. She replied in one of her subsequent X posts,

"I have a real job. I'm a mom. It's the most important & rewarding job in the world. I think if you had a baby girl like I do, you'd understand my positions a little better."

Previously, Riley Gaines had been involved in an online feud on similar lines with the Olympic champion gymnast, Simone Biles. However, the feud was resolved after Biles issued an apology, revealing that she shouldn't have been too harsh with her words.

Edited by Animesh Pandey