Different games, familiar hurdles: organizers of this summer's two competitions for gay athletes say they've learned their lessons so the events will be profitable now and viable for the future.

Hector L. Torres, who will be competing in the triathlon at Chicago's Gay Games this summer, has jumped over his share of hurdles to get to where he is today. He was a severely overweight teenager with a high-pitched voice who had trouble fitting in after his family moved from his native New Jersey to Puerto Rico. His traditional Latino family had a difficult time accepting his sexual orientation--his father even punched him once. His mother survived a near-fatal car accident and has since required her son's assistive care.

Later, he himself was involved in a car accident that left him unconscious for three days. His father, blaming a "midlife crisis," walked out on the family. His first long-term boyfriend was bulimic and bipolar, and their breakup left Torres emotionally spent.

Today, life is very different for the 28-year-old living in Orlando, Fla. A few years back, Torres shed 100 pounds and is now a 200-pound, 6-foot-1 muscular powerhouse. He began running and working out at a local gym and now teaches Pilates, muscle-toning, and cycling classes in addition to working as a promotions director at WNUE FM, Orlando's top-rated Hispanic radio station. He's also made peace with his family and himself.

Each step of the way, Torres says, he was inspired by his mother's recovery process. "After bathing her one day I thought to myself, I don't know how she does it," Torres says. "But it also made me think about myself. Taking care of my mother made me stronger. I saw all that my mom had to overcome, and I thought, If she can do this, I can do this too."

Since that realization, Torres has set goals and constantly challenged himself to do better. That drive is what is taking him to the Windy City in July.

Torres's story of inspiration and personal bests resonates with many of the thousands of athletes who will participate in Chicago's Gay Games, July 15-22, and Montreal's Outgames, July 29-August 5.

Both of these events have had to overcome their own financial, organizational, and public-relations battles, resulting in two separate yet similar entities and events. And like Torres, organizers of both the Gay Games and the Outgames are setting goals and challenging themselves, trying to avoid the flood of red ink that's colored every Gay Games since 1994.

For its part, the Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival overcame a major obstacle in early February with the approval of a blanket waiver from the federal government allowing non-U.S. citizens with HIV/AIDS to enter the country to participate in or attend the Gay Games.

This had been a sticking point for foreign athletes, since the U.S. government does not allow people living with HIV/AIDS to enter the country. But with the Gay Games given "Designated Event Status," HIV-positive participants and attendees can now apply for a single-entry B-2 travel visa from their local U.S. consulate. The visa, valid July 8-28, will be issued on a special form instead of being placed permanently in the person's passport.

"This will not only have a practical impact on the Games, allowing HIV-positive participants, their partners, and others to attend, but this decision will also have a moral impact," says Kevin Boyer, co-vice chair of the Chicago host committee's board of directors. "The law blocking people with HIV/AIDS only spreads fear and does nothing to stop the spread of AIDS. So his latest decision brings attention to just how horrible this law is."

Chicago committee members are also making sure that their event's finances don't end up in the red, as has been the case with Gay Games in the recent past.

After the Games in New York, Amsterdam, and Sydney, the Federation of Gay Games embarked on a two-year study and made recommendations "that we took to heart," says Boyer. For example, the New York Games were held in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. "The impact was that the brand of the Gay Games got lost and sponsors got confused, so we decided not to hold the Games around pride or other community events in the city," says Boyer.

And while Chicago will feature a number of Games-related parties, the host committee will not be running them, unlike in Sydney. "Running the parties themselves had a negative impact on sponsors and planning," says Boyer. "As the host committee, we are concentrating on the core elements of sport, culture, and ceremonies."

In Montreal, members of the host committee of the 1st World Outgames are taking their concept to another level by organizing the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights, which will be held July 26-29, the days leading up to the Outgames. "For the first time, sport and human rights are being brought together," says Libby Post, U.S. spokeswoman for the Outgames. "This is the ideal venue for such a discussion of LGBT human rights since so many people all over the world don't enjoy the same level of human and civil rights that we do here in the U.S. and Canada. This is a spectacular opportunity to build bridges between politics and athletics."

The conference will offer more than 200 workshops grouped into five themed tracks. Also, the "Montreal Declaration" of human rights will be written over the course of the conference, and Martina Navratilova will present the declaration during the Outgames' opening ceremonies.

Post says the Outgames are in great financial shape, noting that all three levels of government--of the city of Montreal, the province of Quebec, and the nation of Canada have embraced and are sponsors of the event. In fact, the Outgames have a budget of $16.9 million and have already raised approximately $17 million in cash and in-kind sponsorship from corporate media as well as government entities.

The Chicago committee has an operating budget of $9.2 million plus an additional in-kind sponsorship budget that has raised about $7.5 million so far and continues to grow daily.

As for Florida triathlete Torres, just like the organizers, he's got his eye on the prize and a desire to prove that the race can be won. And just as his mother inspired him, he hopes to inspire others. "You don't know how good it feels when you're in a race and passing some cocky homophobic straight guy who thinks I can't beat him," says Torres, his voice filled with the pride and passion of an athlete. "And believe me, if I can do it, you can too."

Kuhr is editor at large for the Boston-based In Newsweekly.

ANDREAS KOURMENOS

At the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney, I won silver medals in cross-country mountain biking, road racing for individual time trial, and then criterium--a very short race with tight turns. My goal is to see if I can better my performance at the games in Chicago and Montreal.

I'm going to the Chicago games because Sydney was my first Gay Games and I want to go back and finish the event. I'm Canadian, and Montreal first had the [2006] Gay Games, and they moved to Chicago. I still feel a sense of loyalty to Montreal, and there is a bit of a home-tuff advantage for me. I do have a certain loyalty to my fellow Canadians, so it's important that I go and make a presence in Montreal. But I'm also looking forward to Chicago. It may feel more like an international competition, like Sydney, because it will be new to me.

The final reason to compete in both? They're only a couple weeks apart, so I'll be in top-notch condition for both.

ATHLETE PROFILE

Age: 27

Hometown: Toronto

Sport: Cycling

Headed to: Both Chicago and Montreal

LIZZIE BELLINGER

I am a physical education teacher who was raised in the English countryside by parents who encouraged their children in sports. My mum and dad made sure that my sister, brother, and I learned to swim before we were out of diapers. I'm a perfectionist, and butterfly is the most technical of the strokes, so this appealed to me. At are 15, I got my first national qualifying time and since then have won numerous awards, including breaking the British masters record, which had been held by famed [Olympic medallist] swimmer Sharron Davies for 11 years.

I chose to attend the Montreal games because I feel they are well-organized with a lot of financial backing from the country. Also, Canada appears to be more accepting of gays than other countries. Plus, these games encourage athletes at every level, and being able to celebrate my love of swimming and women is an amazing feeling.

My decision was also political. I feel that Chicago's Federation of Gay Games was taken over by a company as a business, rather than being by gay people for gay people. I also think Montreal is doing a lot of work to get more women participating, especially in swimming, which is generally dominated by men. However, the races in Montreal are mixed; I have to enjoy the satisfaction on occasion of beating the best of the men.

ATHLETE PROFILE

Age: 27

Hometown: Near Saffron Walden, England

Sport: Swimming

Headed to: Montreal only

HECTOR L. TORRES

This is my first Gay Games. I was overweight for most of my life. When I turned 20, I lost 100 pounds and read about the first Gay Games in Amsterdam. Back then I was working out and maintaining the weight but getting bored. I needed another goal to reach. I'd never accomplished a goal where I felt proud and had been a success--at the same time.

The triathlon is a sport that requires complete commitment because there are three sports to master: swimming, biking, and running. It's funny--each time I do a triathlon in central Florida I'm the darkest one there; my friends can pick me out of the lineup. I'm half Puerto Rican and I'm half Ecuadoran. We came here with the purpose of achieving that American dream, and I'm taking every stride of it.

I'm learning from the Games there are other people out there as insane as I am to get up at 4 A.M. to go to a masters swim class. I've met one or two gay triathletes, but they are in their 40s or late 30s, and I'm 28. It's sad to say, within my age range they're all into drugs or the night scene. I think I'm the odd one, the 2% that's different. I teach Pilates, I go to school, and I work fulltime and still make time for training and having a relationship. We have to show we're not just Jack from Will & Grace, because we have goals and aspirations too.

I found out about Montreal after I registered for Chicago. I would love to go, but I didn't hear of it until six months after I signed up [for the Gay Games]. I don't think the advertising campaign in the U.S. was that strong. There's an ad in Triathlete magazine [about Gay Games] but nothing on Canada. I think their publicity didn't reach very far for some sports.

--Athlete profiles as told to Christopher Lisotta

ATHLETE PROFILE

Age: 28

Hometown: Orlando, Fla.

Sport: Triathlete

Headed to: Chicago only