JULY 8, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 7

Cleveland athletes leave their marks on Gay Games IV

MICHAEL THOMAS

by Charlton Harper

When Karen Slaven decided to throw a javelin in the Gay Games, it was the first time she had thought about the sport since high school. As a member of Team Cleveland, one of two Cleveland women's softball teams entered in the Games, she was already committed to one sport. But the costs of sending a whole team were looking prohibitive and Slaven needed another option. "We were trying to raise money to and weren't sure that go we would have the money to send a whole team,"

explains Slaven. "I wanted to find a sport that I could compete in by

myself. So I picked jav-

elin."

What Slaven wasn't

counting on was the fact that buying a javelin would be a lot harder than trying to regain her rusty throwing skills. “A jav-

elin sure isn't something

Dunkle, a Cleveland Heights couple who won medals in Vancouver at the 1990 Gay Games, both tasted victory in New York. Webb took a bronze in the 5,000K race/ walk, while Dunkel silvered in the high jump. To Webb's discerning eye, the Games were a success despite the sheer size of New York City. "Well, given the amount of people

"When we walked into Yankee Stadium for the closing ceremonies and there were 40,000 queers packing that place, it was a real highlight for the athletes. I'll never forget it. It was the coolest thing that ever happened to me."

"

you can find in the sporting goods store," she laughs. "It took a long time to order one, about a couple months. That's why I didn't have much time to practice." She managed only one day of practice in the Metroparks and an afternoon at Cleveland Heights High School.

Slaven beat the odds. She brought home a gold medal in javelin.

Her advice to other athletes considering the next Gay Games? "Pick the event and do it. It's that easy."

Slaven wasn't the only Northeast Ohio queer athlete to return home a few ounces heavier in metal objects. Other area athletes won honors and medals in wrestling, bodybuilding, track and field and tennis. Both of Cleveland's women's softball teams medaled. Slaven and her teammates took a bronze in Division B, while the Miller Lite/ Just Us team scored with a silver medal in Division A. [Since official Gay Games results were not available by press time, Chronicle coverage is based on information from participating athletes and friends.]

James Johnson had talked about the Games for years, but only decided a couple of months ago to enter what would become the world's largest tennis tournament. He and fellow Clevelander Paul Niepert took a gold medals in men's doubles. Though modesty kept him from blowing his own horn, Johnson's off-court partner Michael Thomas was proud enough to blow it for him. "I'm really happy for him," says Thomas. "He went just to say that he was in the Games, and then halfway through the week they realized that they had a chance at medaling. The competition was really fierce, but they did it. We're trying to get Jim to wear his medal everywhere but he's too modest."

Though many Cleveland athletes were playing in their first Games, veterans returned as well. Marti Webb and Debra

COMMITMENT Vows

I perform ceremonies outside the traditional fold with sincere respect for each couple who love, honor & cherish each other.

Please call Rev. Renee Goodman 216/247-2772

-Sue Bennett

and the location, they did a great job pulling it off," she says. "They were able to provide more perks for athletes in Vancouver, and the venues were spread around too much in New York. But still it's exciting to see so much talent coming together." Webb says she and Dunkle are already saving their pennies for the 1998 Amsterdam Games.

Sue Bennett says she's "torn about the next Games."

As a member of Team Cleveland, she was impressed with the whole idea of the Games and she knows it was good for "mainstream visibility". But she worries that the Games may show too little of the larger queer community. "You had to be middle class to do this. And the ratio of men to women was like five to one. It's not a good slice of our community. Plus it shows how much we were willing to spend on a party. I'm not saying the Games shouldn't happen, but I'd like us as a community to talk about the

dollars we spend to

play when we have problems like AIDS that could use this kind of attention

money."

and

Still, Bennett's political sense is balanced by the memory of participating in such a queer-positive experience like the Games. "When we walked into Yankee Stadium for the closing ceremonies and there were 40,000 queers packing that place, it was a real highlight for the athletes. I'll never forget it. It was the coolest thing that ever happened to me."

Ken Leckler would rather forget about medals altogether. Though he managed a winning Miller Lite/Just Us team, he'd rather the focus shift from winning to plain old participation. “I

Exit Games TV

Paul Niepert, left, and James Johnson returned to Cleveland with gold medals in men's tennis doubles.

feel that most people who went up there, even if they did not win a medal, I think they got something from the Games anyway. There are so many different levels of expe-

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