Third Gay Games outing for ‘Drag Race’ queen who’s a fierce water polo player
'Canada's Drag Race' queen Minhi Wang is this week competing at her third Gay Games with her water polo team, Toronto Triggerfish. She talks exclusively to Outsports.
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VALENCIA, Spain — “If you’re writing a story about a drag queen who’s heading to the Gay Games, then call me Minhi — it just makes sense!”
Ming Yao is the name written on the accreditation list for Valencia 2026, but “Canada’s Drag Race” fans will better know this athlete as Minhi Wang, who made it to the final of the TV show’s fifth season last year, claiming two impressive challenge wins along the way.
Minhi also appeared in the Canadian franchise’s debut season as a Pit Crew member, so she’s a rare example of someone who’s appeared on “Drag Race” as both a model/assistant and as a contestant.
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Away from the Werk Room, you can regularly find her making a big splash in water polo, and this week she’s competing in her third Gay Games.
Originally from Australia, Minhi got into the sport more than a decade ago after moving from Perth to the U.K., where she joined London Orca. A year later, she headed across the Atlantic to live in Toronto, so she switched teams to Triggerfish.
This will be her third appearance at the Gay Games, having competed at Paris 2018 and Guadalajara 2023.
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It was joyous to see so many people from our LGBTQ sports family, from all over the world, parading at an otherwise sketchy Gay Games Opening Ceremony in Valencia.
Outsports caught up with Minhi to learn more about her journey in LGBTQ inclusive sports…
Outsports: Hi Minhi! It’s great that you’re back at the Gay Games. Tell us more about how you became a Toronto Triggerfish player…
Minhi: Thanks! Yes, I ‘fell in love’ with someone I met at a tournament and moved to Toronto. Although that relationship didn’t work out and we broke up, I ended up staying in Canada and have made the city my home.
What have been your past experiences of tournaments with the Triggerfish?
The Triggerfish have twice won gold at the IGLA World Championships [the main global annual LGBTQ aquatics event], but on both occasions, I wasn’t actually there!
We’ve won other medals a few times, however, and that’s the really fun thing about this team. There are about five or six of us who have been playing since I started. Initially, we would get annihilated by teams like San Francisco and WeHo, but over the years, we’ve grown and got more competitive.
At the last Gay Games, we had a great start and ended up playing the bronze-medal match, but we sadly lost. This time, I think we’re seen as a team that could potentially win gold, so that’s really exciting.
And did I see that your brother is also at the Gay Games?
Yes! My older brother is gay too, and he plays tennis. Our first Gay Games together was Paris 2018, we were both in Guadalajara, and he’s here in Valencia too.
So it’s a fun little family reunion — I get to go watch him play, and then he comes to watch us play, which is cute.
In Paris, they had this massive poster of all the athletes’ names, and our names were there together!
Has aquatics always been a big part of your life?
I’ve always been a swimmer, but I only learned water polo as an adult. That was through London Orca.
When I arrived in the city, I was in a group of folks from Perth, and my friend said, ‘There are these two other gay guys that are also from Perth. Do you know them?’
I didn’t, but they had already joined Out to Swim [London’s LGBTQ swimming club], so I decided to drop in one day, and that was ‘game over’! It was a lot of fun. Everyone was so friendly.
You join a club in the beginning because you’re looking for community or the social aspect, but I also really enjoyed the sport itself.
When I moved to Toronto, water polo became my initial way of making connections, whether it was to find friends or somewhere to live. I moved in with a guy from the team as a roommate, and then I got my job through networking via the team.
Did sports form part of your coming-out story at all?
No, I wouldn’t really say so. Swimming is such an individual kind of sport, and there wasn’t really any negative locker room stuff that made me feel bad, like you often get in team sports.
Sports have always been a constant for me, and that led on to working out, staying fit, those kinds of things.
I was out before I came to London, but I would say that was my gay awakening. I started understanding what gay life has to offer, what the community is all about — both good and bad! — and what it really means to be your true, authentic self.
What makes the LGBTQ aquatics community so special?
It’s so international, and it’s grown considerably over the years. You get to see everyone on a fairly regular basis without having to try too hard, because we’re all going to a lot of the same tournaments. It’s really fun, and I’ve made friends around the world.
And when traveling, it’s very easy to just reach out to the local club and say, ‘Hey, I’m in town for a few weeks, can I just pop in and practice with you all?’ That way, you get to meet new people and make new friendships as well.
Previously on Outsports, we’ve also featured your “Canada Drag’s Race” sisters Gia Metric and Hazel, who are artistic swimmer Giorgio Triberio and former college diver Aidan Faminoff, respectively. Why do drag queens love aquatics?
It’s because you get to see almost everything first, it’s like a sneak preview!
But seriously, I don’t think queens are generally a sporty crowd. And to be honest, both Hazel and I get called the ‘brothers’ of our seasons. We don’t get the best rap as being the most feminine of our sisters!
What else have you got planned for Valencia?
Triggerfish have a reputation for holding an underwear party. We generally don’t organize it before we go. It’s become all mythical and legendary… people ask, ‘When is it going to happen? Are you going? Do you know where it is?’
We put one on in a club in Guadalajara for the last Gay Games, but the guy running it had a horrible coat check system, which was just writing numbers on white garbage bags with a black marker pen. He placed them in order, but when people came to get their stuff, he got frazzled, the order got mixed up, and we had to step in to try and figure it all out.
I’m hoping that whatever we do in Valencia, it has better logistics!
@heyminhiwang What is more important to you, beauty or intelligence? #beauty #intelligence #pageant #dragqueen #torontopride #pride ♬ original sound – Minhi Wang
You’ve been celebrated for bringing “Ozgaysian excellence” to the runway. Do you feel a sense of responsibility in terms of representation?
To be honest, I don’t go into my sport thinking I am actively representing a specific marginalized group; I’m still very much doing it for myself. But when people slide into my DMs to tell me that seeing me makes them feel seen and represented, I think that’s truly beautiful.
And for something like the Gay Games, you have to remember that a lot of queer people grew up having had terrible experiences with sports as kids.
So it’s really good to see so many adults figuring out how wonderful it can be to be part of a team.
It’s about structure, committing to something, working hard and getting better — they are all of the great parts of doing a sport, along with all the friends you make.
You can follow Minhi Wang at @heyminhiwang on Instagram and TikTok.
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