Powerlifter earns four gold medals in 2019 Special Olympics



Special Olympics athlete, Michelle “Angel “ Athenas

Special Olympics athlete, Michelle “Angel “ Athenas

It was nothing but gold for Special Olympics athlete, Michelle “Angel “ Athenas, as the powerlifter earned four gold medals during the competition in the United Arab Emirates last month. The 34 year old, who is a resident of FREE (Family Residence and Essentials Enterprises) in Old Bethpage, medaled in three separate events, including the bench press, squat and deadlift.

“I was competing with 72 other powerlifters from all around the world,” said Athenas, who is from Huntington. “There were eight other people from the United States and I was the only woman to come back with four medals.”

Athenas credits her Residential Director at FREE, John Ponce, in working with her to achieve her goals at the Special Olympics games.

“He’s been my assigned personal trainer since 2014, and he always gets me focused and  pushes me to work harder in the gym,” said Athenas. “We are in the gym six days a week, three hours a day, to help build up my strength and endurance.”

Ponce said that training with Athenas is easy because she is extremely motivated in the gym.

“When I workout with her, she always wants to push herself harder and is eager to learn more ,” said Ponce. “She tries to work on every muscle in every session. Sometimes I need to scale her back a little bit.”

 

He said that a specific training regimen has been setup for her which employs a combination of endurance and strength training.

 

“We do a lot of the workouts at the Retro Fitness in Deer Park. We’ll start out with some light cardio to help build up her endurance and for the last hour and a half concentrate on weightlifting and strength training.”
As a result of her training at the Deer Park gym, Retro Fitness has given Athenas a lifetime membership at their gym and other fringe benefits.
Athenas said that health and fitness were not always a priority for her and that she used to lead what some might consider an unhealthy lifestyle.
“I used to smoke cigarettes like four to five packs a day. I even smoked e-cigarettes,” said Athenas. “It got to the point where I needed to have surgery for my teeth because they were in such bad condition.”
After getting involved with John, she began to adopt a healthier lifestyle with her training regiment and eating the right types of food to help build muscle to her frame.
Now instead of eating sugary, calorie laden food, her diet consists of high protein and complex carbohydrates to help fuel her doing workouts and refuel her after sessions in the gym.
“She’s taken to eating a lot of whole grain foods like quinoa and other types of vegetables,” said Ponce. “She’s been eating so much chicken that I’m surprised she’s not growing feathers.”
Aside from her workout routine, Athenas works part-time at a ranch in Middle Island, helping to take care of the horses and working on the farm.
Athenas’ next goal is to qualify and participate in the State Games in Orlando in 2023 as well as the next SPecial Olympics in Germany that same year.

One response to “Powerlifter earns four gold medals in 2019 Special Olympics”

  1. diane sheridan says:

    You are a true inspiration. 4 medals!! Congratulations and best wishes in all your endeavors.

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