My Favorite Powerlifting Moment

I had retired from lifting for a year and I decided training the special Olympic kids. They were doing a meet in the town next to me and begged me to lift with them. I trained only for 6 weeks, I said that I retired and I was hardly lifting at all! Well, I figured after 6 weeks, I could at least hit a little weight to make my special Olympians happy and proud!

I opened with 500 on the squat...now this was after I had a best squat of 825. It was hard on my ego, but I wanted to just do it for the boys! Well, One of my nemeses was there, Mark Dimuduk! we used to battle back and forth through the years. We had a love hate relationship, still do! Like Joe and I! he comes up to me, and says, well witmer, I wont brag about this win, your just doing this meet to impress your specials kids, you'll just get your ass kicked again, and they will get to see it anyway! The hair raised on my neck..... AND UH-OHHHHHH... The Monster of Mike Witmer was about to Release!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went from 500 to 600, figured maybe I could stay close to mark, and maybe pull some kind of miracle off! I hit a very, very hard 600! Mark goes from 700 to 750 misses on depth. I take 650, keeping me within striking distance! I get fired up, I was a crowd favorite due to the special Olympic kids! people are screaming, yelling, my boys are so excited! I dig down deep, refusing to miss and grunt out the hardest squat of my life! Well, Marks bench was his week point! I always had a good bench! Plus, while I was retired, I benched more than I did anything!

Well, he hit a 450, I match him with a 450, and it was raw, I had thrown my shirt out when I retired! LOL....here we go, deadlift time! I open with 500, having no idea where I'm at! mark opens with 650, pops it easy! he then gets cocky and takes a big jump, mark was a great deadlifter, he goes 775, which I have seen him hit a million of times, but he loses his grip, and tears his hand! Ha ha!!! my chance I think! I go 650. Man, it was an all day pull! I thought, there is no fuckin way I can pull 700 for the win.

I was lighter, so the tie goes to me! Mark bows out, after seeing my hard pull, thinking he had secured the win! One thing Mark didn't realize about me! I HATE TO LOSE! And will do anything to win! I call for 700 and the win! Mark just shakes his head, and says, you couldn't stand not being competitive with me huh? I say no, I cant stand not beating you once again! he says, get real!!! I tell my boys, I need this one to win! They look at me, with their trusting eyes, and tell me, you cant lose coach, your the strongest man in the world! To them, I was! I was invincible to them! I COULDNT let them down!

I get really cranked up! screaming to the top of my lungs! the crowd is going crazy! The special Olympic kids parents are in a frenzy by now! I grab that bar and close my eyes, and pull like I have never pulled before! It was so slow, it didn't look real! I get it! The judge says DOWN! I am estatic!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, MIKE, GETS THE WIN, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

My boys, and parents, and other lifters rush me! One of my boys, a 250lb down syndrome kid, knocks me to the ground in joy! The rest of my boys jump me, kissing me, telling me they love me, the parents hugging me after I get up, other lifters shaking my hands! I collapse in pure mental drain, and cry! It was the best high of my life!

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