Gateway grad set to represent Team USA at Para Powerlifting World Cup

Next week, Blaze Foster competes in one of the biggest events of his life when he represents Team USA at the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Bogota, Colombia.

How Foster, a 2007 Gateway grad, got to the point to competing on an international stage is a case of hard work and being at the right place at the right time.

Foster, who was born with dwarfism, didn’t even know there was an American Para Powerlifting team three years ago, but that changed after being discovered in 2017 while competing at an event in Canada for athletes with dwarfism, where he placed second.

A couple weeks after the event he got an email from an assistant coach on the USA Para Powerlifting team who was a judge in Canada encouraging him to pursue the sport.

“I really didn’t know anything about the sport until then,” Foster said.

He couldn’t be happier that he learned about the opportunity.

After officially qualifying for the team in June of 2018 at an event in St. Louis, Foster is now ready to go up against some of the top para-athletes in powerlifting when he competes March 18.

“There aren’t any weak people when it comes to Para Powerlifting, especially when you get into internationals,” Foster said. “Most people do well over their body weight, especially in the lighter divisions. When you get to the heavier divisions it’s not as proportionate, but most people are lifting double to triple their body weight.”

Foster’s best lift in competition is 255 pounds. He will attempt to lift 265 pounds in Colombia, which is double his body weight.

His ultimate goal is to lift 300 pounds. He didn’t get into bench pressing until his late 20s, so he’s been steadily getting stronger.

“Getting to 300 would be a great goal to accomplish and it’s definitely possible,” Foster said. “I’ve seen people with dwarfism do it internationally and that’s really encouraging.”

Another goal for Foster is to become a Paralympian. The next Paralympics are this summer in Tokyo. Foster said he’s got an outside shot of making it. He has to get into the top eight in the world to qualify, and if he successfully lifts 265 in Colombia, that’ll move him to 17th in the world. If he doesn’t qualify for 2020 he has his eye toward the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

There are 13 athletes who compete on the USA Para Powerlifting team. Most of Foster’s teammates are wheelchair bound. Some were born with disabilities and others were involved in accidents that left them paralyzed.

Getting to know each of his teammates has given Foster a different perspective on the challenges faced in life.

“I would love for someone able-bodied to be a fly on the wall when we’re in our groups talking with each other,” Foster said. “We all have our stories to tell and they’re all stories with different perspectives and different outlets of life. It’s amazing. It really is. Especially from the perspective of those that weren’t born with the disability.

“I will never be 6-foot tall, so I don’t know what it’s like to be able-bodied size, but some of these athletes were some of the best in crossfit or really good athletes in high school and played college ball and now they have to live a completely different life style.

“They’ve shared how they’ve adapted and the help they had to seek. You just learn so much. It made me realize that having dwarfism isn’t that bad. Not to sound selfish, but being wheelchair-bound is completely different. It’s really been eye-opening.”

Foster credited family and friends as well as Team USA trainer Caitlyn Brown with motivating him on his journey. He trains at CBC Fitness in Monroeville with Andrew Johnston and gym owner Brandan Cain.

“(Cain) lets me keep my overlay at the gym, so when I need to bench, I’m able to do so,” Foster said. “It’s a lot different than a normal bench that able-bodied people use.

“It takes a village to get to this point and really pursue what I want to pursue, and I couldn’t do it without all of them.”