Medalist a Gay Game Ambassadors

Ji Wallace, who won a silver medal in the trampoline at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, is the newest Gay Games ambassador for the 2006 event in Chicago.

"I truly appreciate the symbolism of a multi-sport event -- the opening ceremony, what it means to be there and to compete," said Wallace, 28, from Australia. "The Gay Games can be anyone's Olympics and anyone's dream. The opportunity to compete in Chicago next year can be anyone's life-changing moment."

Wallace retired from trampoline following his success in 2000. He pursued aerial skiing for two seasons, coached trampoline in China, and worked for Nike Asia Pacific. Earlier this year he decided to resume training with his sights set on competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He also came out publicly as gay in April although he had been out to family and friends for many years.

"My first memory of life is actually of watching the opening ceremony of the 1980 Moscow Olympics -- the flame, the dancing bear and the moving placards", Wallace said. "I guess I was destined to be involved at such an event. But the sport that I excelled in as a child was trampoline, which was not included until 2000".

Wallace won several national titles and made an international breakthrough in 1996 by winning gold in the double mini trampoline (DMT) discipline at the 19th Trampoline World Championships, held in Vancouver, British Columbia. He said that win inspired him to set even higher goals. While he did not medal in the individual DMT event at the 20th Trampoline World Championships in Sydney, he did set a still-unbroken world record there for completing a jump with the highest degree of difficulty in the DMT, a triple-triple. Photo by Eileen Langley.

In 1998 trampoline was added to Sydney's Olympic schedule and Gymnastics Australia hired the world's leading coach, Nicholay Zhuravlev, with a goal of leading the Australian team to a medal. Although the standard trampoline discipline was added, the DMT was not.

Wallace was training with Zhuravlev part time and made marked improvements. After Wallace placed 4th in the Olympic qualifying event in 1999, Gymnastics Australia assigned Zhuravlev to coach Wallace full time. The partnership continued to progress and Wallace credits Zhuravlev with the extra edge that helped him achieve his eventual silver medal placement in 2000.

One of the reasons Wallace cites for coming out of retirement is that his score in Sydney would have won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He has already regained a spot on the Australian national team.

Drawing a parallel with the Gay Games, Wallace said that, although winning medals is great, to compete in a prestigious event and compete next to your friends and your teammates is what is truly life changing. He said he is a better man for chasing his dreams and members of the LGBT community can experience the same feeling at the Gay Games.

Ji represents a new generation of LGBT athletes who are out and open while still performing at the highest level in their sports, said Roberto Mantaci, FGG co-president. We welcome him to the Gay Games family and look forward to supporting him as he continues training and competing in trampoline events around the world.

The Gay Games Ambassadors program was started prior to the 2002 Gay Games VI in Sydney. Charter members were actor Judith Light, Olympic gold medal swimmer Bruce Hayes, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, and photographer Tom Bianchi. The Ambassadors now also include cycling champions Petra Rössner and Judith Arndt, former U.S. professional football players Dave Kopay and Esera Tuaolo, tennis legend Billie Jean King, rock star Melissa Etheridge, actor/director Amanda Bearse, powerlifter Chris Morgan, former professional baseball player Billy Bean, and champion figure skater Rudy Galindo.

For information about the Federation of Gay Games, go to www.gaygames.org. Gay Games VII takes place in Chicago from July 15-22, 2006. For information about the Chicago Gay Games, including details on how to register, go to www.GayGamesChicago.org or phone (773) 907-2006.

(Photo by Eileen Langley)