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Two days after winning a spot on the women's U.S. Olympic wrestling team, Stephany Lee (pictured right) married her partner Brigg McDonald in a small ceremony in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Monday.
Lee, 27, beat Iris Smith, who wrestles for the U.S. Army, and 2008 Olympian Ali Bernard on Saturday earning her a spot on the team. According to the New York Times, she told reporters after the match that she did not want to be a spokeswoman for all lesbian athletes, but she added that she is comfortable with herself, and many other athletes may not be out to the public out of fear of backlash.
"I think people are afraid of what other people are going to say. But I don't care what other people say," she said. She later added, "I am who I am, and I’m not going to hide it. I’m not going to dress like a girl to fit an image. No, I’m me. I’m happy. That’s all that matters."
Lee and McDonald, who live in Colorado Springs, wed at a small ceremony including McDonald's children Ethan, 12 and Savannah, 10. They met at a lounge near the U.S. Olympic headquarters training facility in Colorado and have been together for four years.
According to Outsports, fewer than a dozen openly gay athletes were on Olympic teams for the Beijing games in 2008, even though there were more than a thousand competitors.
Women's wrestling debuted at the Olympics in 2004. Last weekend's match was Lee's third Olympic trial.
