{"id":2467013,"date":"2025-07-26T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T13:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/riley-gaines-fires-back-at-critics-after-she-accomplishes-alcatraz-feat-while-31-weeks-pregnant\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T09:06:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T13:06:34","slug":"riley-gaines-fires-back-at-critics-after-she-accomplishes-alcatraz-feat-while-31-weeks-pregnant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/riley-gaines-fires-back-at-critics-after-she-accomplishes-alcatraz-feat-while-31-weeks-pregnant\/","title":{"rendered":"Riley Gaines Fires Back at Critics After She Accomplishes Alcatraz Feat While 31 Weeks Pregnant"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Friley-gaines-fires-back-at-critics-after-she-accomplishes-alcatraz-feat-while-31-weeks-pregnant%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2467013&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky All-American swimmer and conservative activist for women&#8217;s sports rights, defended her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lia-heard-it-all-swimmer-who-tied-thomas-speaks-out-about-ncaa-actions-after-race\/\" title=\"Lia \u2018Heard It All\u2019: ...mer Who Tied Thomas Speaks Out About NCAA Actions After Race\">recent swim<\/a> from Alcatraz Island while nearly 31 weeks pregnant. Despite criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >social media users<\/a> who questioned the safety and wisdom of swimming such a challenging distance while pregnant, Gaines emphasized that she had medical clearance from her OB and felt great throughout the swim. She completed the 1.25-mile swim alongside U.S. Navy SEALs and her husband, repeating a feat she accomplished the previous year when not pregnant. Gaines addressed the backlash in her &#8220;Gaines for Girls&#8221; podcast, pushing back against detractors who doubted her fitness and decision. She gained wider attention after competing against transgender athlete Lia Thomas in NCAA women&#8217;s swimming championships in 2022, sparking national conversations about gender and sports.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>33Riley Gaines shot down social media naysayers who were critical of her Alcatraz swim earlier this month, which she did while 31 weeks pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside U.S. Navy SEALs and her husband, Gaines swam 1.25 miles to shore from the notorious prison island &mdash; a feat she also achieved last year when she wasn&rsquo;t expecting, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/riley-gaines-silences-critics-after-completing-daring-1-25-mile-alcatraz-swim-while-pregnant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Escaped Alcatraz at nearly 31 weeks pregnant. I&rsquo;m basically just a human submarine for baby girl,&rdquo; Gaines wrote on the social media platform X on Friday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Escaped Alcatraz at nearly 31 weeks pregnant. I&rsquo;m basically just a human submarine for baby girl. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AdAJAoyCvH\">pic.twitter.com\/AdAJAoyCvH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Riley_Gaines_\/status\/1946273732563276204?\">July 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Critics rebuked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/simone-biles-attack-riley-gaines-backfires-month-later-girls-joining-fight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gaines<\/a> &mdash; a conservative activist for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/immigrant-horror-man-rapes-chokes-to-death-girl-16-in-front-of-her-own-mother\/\" title=\"Immigrant Horror: Man Rapes, Chokes to Death Girl, 16, in Front of Her Own Mother\">women&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s rights in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-pat-mcafee-drops-bomb-on-olympic-boxer-imane-khelif-after-female-opponent-gets-obliterated\/\" title=\"Watch: Pat McAfee Drops Bomb on Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif After Female Opponent Gets Obliterated\">sports &#038;mdash<\/a>; for making the swim while pregnant.<\/p>\n<p>But Gaines took to her Outkick podcast &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mkDnGeKZtaI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gaines for Girls<\/a>&rdquo; to address the criticisms, saying her swim &ldquo;broke the minds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/liberals-will-hate-notorious-former-doge-employee-scores-new-role-us-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">liberals<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I guess putting your baby at a risk for clicks was a decision.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chugs (@ChugDeezNutz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChugDeezNutz\/status\/1946277425626693947?\">July 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This guy says, &lsquo;I guess putting your baby at risk for clicks was a decision,&rsquo;&rdquo; Gaines said, quoting one user. &ldquo;I wonder where he got his doctorate? I didn&rsquo;t know Twitter had so many OBGYNs or doctors who suddenly know more about pregnancy and exercising when pregnant than my OB did, who cleared me to do this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Maybe not the best time to swim in the ocean then lol but what do I know<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; SpinMountain (@sp27331) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sp27331\/status\/1946274418021306446?\">July 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This person says, &lsquo;Maybe not the best time to swim in the ocean, lol, but what do I know?&rsquo;&rdquo; Gaines quoted. &ldquo;Nothing, actually. You know nothing &mdash; at least about pregnancy and, again, exercising during pregnancy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This person says, &lsquo;Why do this when you&rsquo;re pregnant,&rsquo;&rdquo; Gaines continued reading. &ldquo;&lsquo;Seems dumb, pointless, and not worth it.&rsquo; Again, I think I feel so great, and I have the entire time, because I have done things like this regularly, whether being pregnant or not being pregnant.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gaines&rsquo; responses to other comments can be viewed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prayer-is-not-a-wish-but-a-practice-of-gratitude-to-stave-off-resentment\/\" title=\"Prayer is gratitude in action, not a mere wish to avoid resentment.\">full podcast episode<\/a> below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mkDnGeKZtaI?si=LJqmnnH6E_1_Powj&amp;start=902\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Gaines graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she was a 12-time All-American swimmer, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwf.org\/people\/riley-gaines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Independent Women&rsquo;s Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, she entered the political arena after she was forced to compete with self-described transgender athlete <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/gender\/commentary\/former-teammate-lia-thomas-speaks-out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">William &ldquo;Lia&rdquo; Thomas<\/a>. Gaines ultimately tied for fifth with Thomas at the NCAA women&rsquo;s swimming championships, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/07\/04\/us\/riley-gaines-lia-thomas-upenn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think we should send a thank-you note to people like Will Thomas, I really do, signed and sealed by me,&rdquo; Gaines told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/riley-gaines-wants-send-thank-you-note-lia-thomas-heres-why\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News Digital<\/a> in March. &ldquo;I will sign the thank-you note, I will write it, because I believe he handed us <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/joe-rogan-explains-changed-mind-interviewing-trump-election-tried-kill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the election<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Accompanied by U.S. Navy SEALs and her husband, Gaines completed the 1.25-mile swim from the infamous prison island-a challenge she also accomplished last year when she was not pregnant, according to Fox News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2467014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gaines-Alcatraz.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[59967,59969,59968,37041,33418],"class_list":["post-2467013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alcatraz-swim","tag-athlete-comeback","tag-pregnancy-feat","tag-riley-gaines","tag-sports-controversy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gaines-Alcatraz.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2467013"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2467017,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467013\/revisions\/2467017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2467014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2467013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2467013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2467013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}