"The Human Drama of Athletic Competition...."
Saturday, October 13- Throughout the 1970's on weekend afternoons, it was hard to miss the narrated opening scenes of the ABC network's Wide World of Sports broadcast. At the beginning of each episode, the narrator would describe sports as "the human drama of athletic competition". Fast forward three decades, and today the ABC network is owned by the Disney company and the sports complex where the powerlifters are competing is called "Disney's Wide World of Sports". Despite the years of transformation experienced by the Wide World of Sports brand, sport today can truly be referred to as a human drama. This is no more evident than in the efforts of our Team Zuni on this day.
Early this morning, each team member arrived at the competition, ready to warm-up and begin their individual events. However, because this competition is a huge, multi-day event where athletes must be patient while observing and supporting the other powerlifters while awaiting their personal turn, our athletes had to practice patience and sportsmanship. Each athlete truly performed at their best.
Peter, with his trademark shout of "let's get this party started" prior to grasping the barbell, squat lifted over 220 lbs.; bench pressed almost 220 lbs and exceeded his personal best in the deadlift by raising over 320 pounds with ease. For his performance, Peter received a 1st Place Medal for his division.
T.J. scored a dead lift of over 230 pounds ; a bench press of almost 140 lbs and squat lifted over 165 lbs. T.J. recieved a 1st Place Medal for his division as well.
Rafael bench pressed over 130 lbs, completed a dead lift of almost 180 lbs and scored a squat lift of almost 155 lbs. Rafael received a well earned 2nd Place medal for his division.
Lee bench pressed almost 205 lbs. while also completing the deadlift competition with a final lift of 210 lbs. With these results, Lee received a 1st Place Medal for his division.
Daryl participated in the bench press competition and scored a final lift of over 60 lbs. Utilizing a special adapter that allowed him to be secured to the bench for his comfort, stability and safety, Daryl personified the human drama of athletic competion by utilizing his muscle strength but most of all his strength of will.
In total, Team Zuni walked away with 5 well earned medals with 4 being 1st Place and 1 Second Place. These are exceptional results for a group of young men that have only been training in the sport of powerlifting for less than 10 months. In their Special Olympics division, out athletes competed directly against several other powerlifters from the Ohio area. All of the athletes practiced superior sportsmanship and just may have the opportunity to compete against each other again in a tentative meet scheduled for February on Team Zuni's home turf of Windsor, Virginia.
After a well deserved celebratory dinner at the Golden Corral (where Peter proudly wore his well earned 1st Place medal), our athletes returned to their accomodations to bask in their victories and formulate their plans for the next few days. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to our coach who must return to Virginia. However, the team seems to have some ideas brewing for our next few days in Orlando.
Early this morning, each team member arrived at the competition, ready to warm-up and begin their individual events. However, because this competition is a huge, multi-day event where athletes must be patient while observing and supporting the other powerlifters while awaiting their personal turn, our athletes had to practice patience and sportsmanship. Each athlete truly performed at their best.
Peter, with his trademark shout of "let's get this party started" prior to grasping the barbell, squat lifted over 220 lbs.; bench pressed almost 220 lbs and exceeded his personal best in the deadlift by raising over 320 pounds with ease. For his performance, Peter received a 1st Place Medal for his division.
T.J. scored a dead lift of over 230 pounds ; a bench press of almost 140 lbs and squat lifted over 165 lbs. T.J. recieved a 1st Place Medal for his division as well.
Rafael bench pressed over 130 lbs, completed a dead lift of almost 180 lbs and scored a squat lift of almost 155 lbs. Rafael received a well earned 2nd Place medal for his division.
Lee bench pressed almost 205 lbs. while also completing the deadlift competition with a final lift of 210 lbs. With these results, Lee received a 1st Place Medal for his division.
Daryl participated in the bench press competition and scored a final lift of over 60 lbs. Utilizing a special adapter that allowed him to be secured to the bench for his comfort, stability and safety, Daryl personified the human drama of athletic competion by utilizing his muscle strength but most of all his strength of will.
In total, Team Zuni walked away with 5 well earned medals with 4 being 1st Place and 1 Second Place. These are exceptional results for a group of young men that have only been training in the sport of powerlifting for less than 10 months. In their Special Olympics division, out athletes competed directly against several other powerlifters from the Ohio area. All of the athletes practiced superior sportsmanship and just may have the opportunity to compete against each other again in a tentative meet scheduled for February on Team Zuni's home turf of Windsor, Virginia.
After a well deserved celebratory dinner at the Golden Corral (where Peter proudly wore his well earned 1st Place medal), our athletes returned to their accomodations to bask in their victories and formulate their plans for the next few days. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to our coach who must return to Virginia. However, the team seems to have some ideas brewing for our next few days in Orlando.
