G Rene Ryan (born October 1, 1995) is an American swimmer from

Kutztown, Pennsylvania Kutztown ( Pennsylvania German: ''Kutzeschteddel'') is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located southwest of Allentown and northeast of Reading. As of the 2020 census, the borough had a population of 4,162. Kutzto ...

. They won a United States Swimming Championships in the 800m freestyle, and two golds in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Early life and education

Ryan was born in

on October 1, 1995. They moved to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

for their last three years of high school, where they took cyber courses from Kutztown High School so they could train at

North Baltimore Aquatic Club The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic Games, Olympic swimmers, six of who ...

, which, under coach Erik Posegay, produced ten Olympians, including

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

Career

Ryan learned that Posegay was moving to NBAC shortly after their return from

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, where they won silver and bronze medals at the

FINA World Junior Swimming Championships The World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships (commonly referred to as 'Junior World Championships' or 'Junior Worlds') is an international swimming championship event organized biennially by World Aquatics for swimmers aged 14–18 years as of ...

in 2011. Ryan was part of the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, finishing fourth in the 400m and seventh in the 800m. On September 9, 2013, Ryan made a commitment to swim for Mike Bottom and the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

for the start of the 2014 season.

Personal life

Ryan is queer and

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

and uses ''

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'', and ''themselves'' (also ''themself'' and ''theirself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun derived from plural they. It typically occu ...

'' pronouns. They have been involved in trans awareness, education, and activism during their time at the University of Michigan, pushing for gender inclusive restrooms and LGBTQ and queer inclusion in USA Swimming policies.

References

External links

*
Gillian Ryan
at

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

(archived) * * 1995 births Living people American freestyle swimmers American non-binary sportspeople LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania Michigan Wolverines women's swimmers People from Kutztown, Pennsylvania Swimmers from Baltimore Swimmers from Pennsylvania Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in swimming Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in swimming 21st-century American sportspeople {{US-swimming-bio-stub