San Diegan Gary Gerber won the gold medal in the men’s 35-plus 163-lb. weight class at 1st World Outgames on July 30 in Montreal, Canada.

Gerber was the only wrestler from the San Diego Bulldogs Wrestling Club to travel to the Outgames and was part of 220 wrestlers competing in the tournament.

“Gary is going to have to build a medal cabinet to display his Montreal gold alongside his silver from Gay Games VII Chicago and his silver he earned at the 2006 Golden Gate tournament in San Francisco,” said San Diego Bulldogs coach Greg Lines.

Gerber beat the U.K.’s Paul Andrews 4-1 during a hard-fought gold medal match that entailed three rounds.

During the match, Gerber suffered a cut and spilled blood on the ground. It took 11 minutes before a medic could stop the bleeding, but he was able to finish his match with a take-down during the last seconds.

“I would say the Outgames and the Gay Games were the best experiences of my life, or very close to it,” Gerber said. “It was just absolutely an incredible experience and probably has changed the way I’ll be for the rest of my life.”

In another match, Gerber defeated prominent Canadian politician and gay rights activist Réal Ménard 2-0 in two rounds. Ménard is member of the Canadian House of Commons for the Quebec subdivision of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

“He was the first person I wrestled. I just noticed there were TV cameras following him everywhere,” Gerber said.

Gerber’s match with Ménard lasted two close rounds before he won by a clinch at the end of the second round.