It was fast success for Special Olympics Colorado athlete Tania Wright. With just a year of experience in powerlifting, Wright was selected to represent her state at the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida. “It was amazing,” Wright says. “It was a lot of fun. Hot and humid, of course, but it was really cool.”
Wright says the weeklong competition, which was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, felt like a summer camp. “You went to the cafeteria to eat all your meals and you got to meet different people from different parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean,” Wright says.
One of the high points for Wright and the Special Olympics athletes was going to the Disney parks. Wright went with a teammate’s family and created memories that will last a lifetime. “It’s something I will always remember,” she says.
During the competition, Wright competed in squat, bench press and deadlift. She earned silver in squat, gold in bench press, silver in deadlift and silver for all-around.
“It was intense,” she says about the competition. “For me, I can zone things out like all the spectators, but it was what I expected. It was the ‘let’s push yourself as hard as you can and see where you can go.’”
Following the USA Games in June, Special Olympics Colorado held its Summer State Games. Wright opted out because of the quick turn around and not having enough time to allow her body to heal.
Wright plans to continue powerlifting, with the goal of growing stronger. As she says, “I like to lift weights, and I like to get stronger so for the next year in a half, I would like to easily deadlift 300 pounds."
"Make it look easy, make it look light,” she continues.
With so much promise after a short time in her sport, it seems all of that is within reach for Wright.
