Dunedin powerlifter Ryan Stewart is not a big man.
But the 37-year-old was a colossus in Berlin yesterday as he became the first New Zealand athlete to claim a medal at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Stewart overcame some initial wobbles at the powerlifting cauldron at the enormous Messe convention complex to perform near his best and claim not one but four silver medals.
A final deadlift attempt of 152.5kg had supporters on their feet as Stewart pulled every ounce of power from his body, only for the judges to disallow the lift.
That was when Stewart shrugged his shoulders and uttered his poignant quote.
He is a regular at Special Olympics events, as well as on the mainstream powerlifting circuit, and is accustomed to performing in front of crowds, but the boisterous scenes at the powerlifting arena were another level for the World Games debutant.
"I think the whole occasion and the crowd got to Ryan a bit on the first squat attempt," coach Sonia Manaena said.
"But we had a good chat after that first attempt to remind him to listen to the coaches on stage and after that he was great."
He was hailed by the German commentator and crowd, which included several New Zealand team-mates.
His mother, Lynne, was also on hand and got a bear hug from a son who had been away from his family for nearly two weeks preparing for the World Games.
She said her son had been part of the Special Olympics for 18 years, but initially in rowing and tenpin bowling.
"In those days, Special Olympics did not do powerlifting.
"We live on a steep hill and Ryan used to haul this big backpack up that street every day, so we often commented that powerlifting would be the perfect sport for him."
Once the sport was added to the Special Olympics roster, Stewart took to powerlifting like a duck to water.
He lives independently, works three part-time jobs and trains hard each week.
Yesterday’s success was a culmination of years of hard slog for Stewart, who finished runner-up to impressive Greek athlete Dimitri Kyriakos.
