EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 Inside Goliath Gym, the sound of weights hitting the floor echoed as athletes stepped up to the bar \u2014 each lift representing months of training, determination, and confidence.<\/p>\n
Among the competitors was Carlos Garcia, one of several athletes with disabilities taking part in a powerlifting meet hosted by the Miracle League. For Garcia, the competition was more than just lifting weights.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part about lifting is picking that weight up and then putting it down,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cKnowing that it feels like a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event brought together athletes of all abilities, creating a supportive environment where competitors encouraged each other with cheers, smiles, and high-fives after every lift.<\/p>\n
For many of the athletes, simply stepping into the gym for the first time was intimidating.<\/p>\n
Coach Paula Powell, who works with the Miracle League powerlifting program, said the transformation she has seen in the athletes has been incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first met them, a lot of them were scared to come into the gym,\u201d Powell said. \u201cThey were intimidated by the equipment and the other people in the gym. But little by little the gym community stepped up and cheered them on and helped them train. Now look at them \u2014 they\u2019re lifting just like everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Garcia, the day was even more special because he competed alongside his mother. While cheering on her son, she also achieved a major milestone of her own \u2014 breaking a Texas state record during the competition.<\/p>\n
Seeing her son compete made the moment even more meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing my son competing and being able to do this \u2014 and even receiving his medals \u2014 it\u2019s just a wonderful feeling as a mom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Throughout the competition, athletes celebrated every successful lift together, hugging their coach, smiling with teammates, and cheering each other on.<\/p>\n
For Garcia, sharing the experience with his mom made the moment unforgettable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for competing with me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd thank you for always being my mom. I love you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organizers say events like this are about more than competition \u2014 they\u2019re about building confidence, strength, and community for athletes of all abilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 Inside Goliath Gym, the sound of weights hitting the floor echoed as athletes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-205069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}