The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water

by Jeff Kagan

Evan Matthew Cobb has an unusual story which begins about fifteen years ago. Evan was a swimmer and had been since he was a little boy. He swam competitively throughout middle school and high school. However, there was something weighing him down as he pulled himself through lane after lane of chlorinated water. Evan had come to the realization that he was a gay man, but he was not quite ready to deal with the unpredictable aftermath of revealing his secret to the world. He struggled with his sexual orientation throughout high school and decided it was best to keep his secret to himself, at least for a little while longer.

Many stories about high school athletes have a similar ending, with the athlete staying in the closet for many years to come, simply because they are not ready to give up the sport they love. Most think it’s a choice between staying closeted to continue playing, or coming out and giving up their passion. Sadly, in most cases, they realize this years later.

This is the part where Evan’s story becomes unusual. Rather than carry that burden with him when he went off to college, Evan made the bold decision to come out. He says, "In a lot of ways being able to keep swimming was a real source of strength while I was coming out. It reminded me that I didn't have to give up anything, and that being out meant I could finally be who I wanted to be, and that included being an athlete.”

Evan came out to his coach and his teammates at Oberlin College and they accepted him for who he was. This was uncommon at that time, but it showed Evan that he had surrounded himself with good, open-minded people – the same people who are still his friends fifteen years later.

“I think it was always a challenge for me to know I was hiding a huge part of myself from my team when I was younger (in high school). When I came out in college though it was like having a fresh start with my teammates, and we had great trust and a strong bond from the very beginning.”

Evan’s philosophy is that a close relationship with the team is essential in order to succeed in any sport, especially in swimming, as it requires discipline, training and perseverance. “We spend countless hours together in the pool, in the cold, and you count on your team to push you through challenges and you all learn together. Being free to be myself made it much easier and I'm very glad I got to have that experience,” he says.

Two years ago, when Evan moved to New York, he has been a member of New York’s LGBT swim team, Team New York Aquatics (TNYA). He had heard about the team through friends and couldn’t wait to join. And although swimming is mostly an individual sport in competition, having a team to train with make quite a difference. Evan says, "What I love most about Team New York (Aquatics) is that it is both a great swim team that pushes me hard -- and a family."

Two weeks ago, the team took a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland as TNYA competed in the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) championships where the tournament slogan is simply, “Get in the water.”

IGLA Championships are held every year, except a year when the Gay Games are played, and this year 75 TNYA swimmers, divers and water-polo players jumped right in it to win it. They had been training and preparing since the end of last year's meet in Hawaii. Their determination and preparation paid off as they swept the tournament -- winning their first-ever IGLA Championship (the large-team medal in swimming).

Now, Evan has something else weighing him down in the water: medals.

Learn more about Team New York Aquatics at www.tnya.org.