A competitive weightlifter with Down Syndrome says he was inspired by “hero” World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman – and is set for this first competition.
Richard Sutherland, from Inverness, Scotland, is currently training for his first ever contest later this summer.
The 50-year-old, who trains with Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club, will be taking part at the Northern District Championship in June.
Sutherland, who lives at Oak Ridge Residential Home, will be taking part in an adaptive weightlifting competition, which will also be taking place at Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club’s premises in Merkinch.
Sutherland was inspired to get involved into weightlifting after watching Invergordon athlete Tom Stoltman’s success in the World Strongest Man competition.
Sutherland also had the opportunity to meet Stoltman at Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club where he had the chance to train alongside him and get some tips on how to improve his strength and conditioning.
He said what Stoltman has achieved during his career was a major reason why he decided to get into weightlifting in the first place. He hopes that he can have as much success in competition as he has had.
Sutherland said: “Tom Stoltman is my hero.
“He came down to the gym to meet me here and also gave me a talk on how to train for competition and I learned a lot.”
He has been encouraged to take part in the competition by his coach Jordan Bowie, who runs Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club, which he established in 2023.
Bowie, who also takes part in weightlifting competitions as well as running the club, first saw an adaptive weightlifting competition while he was competing at an event in England last year.
After seeing adaptive weightlifting in action for himself, he thought that Sutherland was ready to take part in competition after progressing well in weightlifting since becoming a member at the club.
Bowie said: “When I went down to compete at the British Open in Devon, I also saw that there was an adaptive weightlifting competition taking place at the same time.
“After watching the adaptive weightlifting event, I thought it was a great idea. When I got back to Inverness, I approached Richard about the possibility of him getting involved and taking part in competition.
“He has been really keen to take part and we have been training for it ever since.
“He will now be competing at the Northern District Championships at the club in June and it is the biggest weightlifting competition in the north.
“It is a competition which I think he could do really well in.”
Sutherland says he is taking his preparation seriously for the competition as he trains at least twice a week with the guidance of his coach.
As well as training at Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club on Tuesday mornings, he also heads with Bowie to Forge Gym on Carsegate Road on Friday as he is continually looking to improve his technique.
During sessions, Sutherland says that he likes to train along with playing music from his favourite musician, Elvis Presley. He also likes to play music from the film soundtrack of Rocky during training and he also does boxing as part of his training regime.
Sutherland says that he has become fitter and stronger since he started weightlifting, which was his original aim when he first decided to take up the sport.
Happy with the progress that he has made since taking up weightlifting, he feels he is ready to make the next step and compete in competition.
Sutherland said: “I feel like I have got into better shape and have become fitter since I decided to take up weightlifting.
“That is why I do it.
“My favourite lift is the deadlift as it involves lifting the weight straight from the floor and includes snatches and clean jerk which I have become good at.”
Bowie says Sutherland’s dedication to weightlifting is showing as his results are improving as he continues to train. His personal best in the deadlift is 130kg and is on target to lift even more this year.
He said: “We started Richard off with strength exercises and then we progressed into deadlifts.
“A deadlift is picking up a weighted bar from the floor and hinging your hips backwards.
“After that we then moved into snatch and clean jerk.
“Since Richard first started, he has come on fantastically well in weightlifting. He is a good listener and is willing to improve his skills and has improved massively as a weightlifter.
“We have been doing lots of weightlifts, including deadlifts and we have moved on to Olympic training in the last month.
“He trains twice a week at Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club and Forge Gym and we have developed a good training regime for him.”
The Northern District Championship takes place at Inverness Olympic Weightlifting Club in June and it will be the first time that the club is hosting a Scottish Weightlifting competition.
Looking forward to making his debut in competitive weightlifting, Sutherland says that he is looking to make a big impact and come out on top in his category.
He said: “I am looking to get a trophy at the competition.”
