2008 Paralympic Games

Day 3 - Sept. 11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 13, 2008

BEIJING, China-Competition will soon begin for powerlifting at the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium. Lifting for the United States at 67.5kg for the men will be Anderson (Andy) Wise (Needham, Mass.), and lifting for the women at 75kg will be Mary Stack (Ann Arbor, Mich.).

Because the competition is starting late, the powerlifting athletes have been staying in peak condition by training at a gym near the competition venue. "I've never seen a training venue as well done," said Head Coach Mary Hodge. Wise will compete on Saturday, September 13, and Stack will compete on Sunday, September 14 with medal ceremonies occurring the same day.

Powerlifting occurs in 10 weight categories each for men and women. Each country is allowed to qualify just one athlete in each weight category, and for the Paralympic Games, the Paralympic powerlifting team qualified just two athletes.

Wise, 25, a student at Bridgewater State College in exercise and sport science, started powerlifting in 2003 and broke the junior record for his weight category at the National Junior Disabled Championships in New London, Conn. In 2007 he represented the United States at the Parapan American Games and he took first place at the IPC American Powerlifting Championships for his weight category.

Stack, 34, a sports and recreation coordinator for the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living, has been a powerlifter for 18 years at the state, national and international level.  She has been a member of two U.S. Paralympic Powerlifting Teams (2000, 2004) and three U.S. Paralympic World Championship Teams (1998, 2002 and 2006).

Stack holds records for many able-bodied federations in the 198-pound weight class for the bench press. She has an American record for the Anti-Drug Athlete United Federation. She has a state record for the Michigan USA Powerlifting Federation. Stack also has a Michigan state record for the World Association for Benchers and Deadlifters. In December 2007, she broke the American IPC powerlifting record with a lift of 118 kg. The record was previously 112.5 kg. 

Powerlifting is bench press, a test of upper body strength. Competitors must lower the bar to the chest, hold it motionless on the chest and then press it upwards to arms length with locked elbows. The athletes are given three attempts and the winner is the athlete who lifts the highest number of kilograms.  

Powerlifting first debuted at the Paralympic Games in 1964 as weightlifting. It has evolved over the years, and now the competition is open to all athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal injuries, and lower limb amputees. Women competed for the first time in Sydney.

For more information or to arrange an athlete interview, please contact Dave Somers at 13910634060 (if calling from the U.S., dial 011 86 plus the local number).

Daily video highlights of the 2008 Paralympic Games are available at http://www.usparalympics.org/ and http://www.universalsports.com/.