Silver for ‘Bear’

Powerlifter Darren Gardiner was known as ‘Bear’ because he roared like a bear in the marshalling room to psych himself up before he strode on stage to make a lift. It may not have been the only secret to his success, but it may have helped him at the Athens summer Paralympics as he bench pressed 225kg to take the silver medal in the ‘big boys’ class – for lifters over 100kg. Iraq’s Faris Abed won gold. Gardiner won silver again in 2008.