Riley Gaines gives birth to daughter

"[W]elcome to the world, sweet Margot," Riley Gaines said

Published: October 3, 2025 9:45am

Female athlete activist Riley Gaines gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Margot.

Gaines announced the birth on social media on Thursday, after having the child on Monday.

"[T]here's nothing that could've prepared me for a love like this. God has blessed us beyond belief," Gaines wrote in a post on Instagram, with pictures of her, Margot, and her husband, Louis Barker. "[W]elcome to the world, sweet Margot."

Gaines announced her pregnancy in June. At 31 weeks pregnant, Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, swam 1.25 miles to the Alcatraz prison alongside U.S. Navy SEALs, combat veterans, and her husband in July, the New York Post reported.

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