Triple Commonwealth Games representative and bronze medallist Ben Wright has perseverance and dedication in spades. The Perth-born athlete, the second Australian after Leigh Skinner to compete in powerlifting at three Commonwealth Games. Be made his debut at Glasgow 2014 where he finished 10th in the heavyweight division. A sixth-place finish on the Gold Coast four years later wasn’t the result he was hoping for after suffering a seizure when he was asleep 10 weeks before competition which resulted in compression fractures in four of his vertebrae. Ben, a full-time draftsman in WA, was born with spina bifida and competed in …
Read MoreTriple Commonwealth Games representative and bronze medallist Ben Wright has perseverance and dedication in spades. The Perth-born athlete, the second Australian after Leigh Skinner to compete in powerlifting at three Commonwealth Games.
Be made his debut at Glasgow 2014 where he finished 10th in the heavyweight division. A sixth-place finish on the Gold Coast four years later wasn’t the result he was hoping for after suffering a seizure when he was asleep 10 weeks before competition which resulted in compression fractures in four of his vertebrae.
Ben, a full-time draftsman in WA, was born with spina bifida and competed in wheelchair basketball and athletics (shot put, discus) as a junior.
He started Para-powerlifting in 2012 when he attended a “come-and-try day” and pressed 80kg, a near national record for his age and weight class. Ben is also the Oceania record holder in two weight classes (80kg and 88kg) and a three-time Australian champion.
To compete at the Paralympics would mean the culmination of a lifelong dream. Ever since Ben was a kid, who wasn’t even involved in sport at that stage, he just knew he wanted to do it.
Show less
Join AUS Squad
Para-powerlifting
