Blind powerlifter Jesso raises bar to new heights.
Scarborough powerlifter Stephen Jesso, shown her squat lifting 290 kilograms, set a new national record during the Toronto Pro Supershow Friday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Photo/COURTESY
"People are surprised at what I put up, but why? Are you really surprised? Look at the size of me." - Stephen Jesso, blind powerlifter
Stephen Jesso is getting sick and tired of having to prove just how strong he is to others.
It's apparently not enough that he already holds the world blind powerlifting records for the deadlift, bench press, and squat, or that he's the defending Ontario Benchpress Champion from last year. People just can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that a blind man can be the strongest man, too.
"I've always got to prove it," said the five-foot-11-inch 381-pound lifter from Scarborough's Birchmount Road and Danforth Avenue area.
"People are surprised at what I put up, but why? Are you really surprised? Look at the size of me."
That's why Jesso is on a mission to win the world powerlifting championships in August of 2012: he wants to shut the book on the matter forever - and he's well on his way to doing so.
The 33-year-old broke two national raw powerlifting records - the first with a 300kg squat, the second a total lift of 827.5 kg - at the Toronto Pro Supershow, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last weekend.
"That's virtually unheard of raw," Jesso said. "It was a good day for me."
It was the first time the Supershow included powerlifting as one of its events, and Jesso made a powerful first impression. He was one of 14 competitors - all of them able-bodied - in the best pound-for-pound competition.
A raw lift means each competitor cannot wear any weightlifting gear, whereas a suited lift means they can wear supportive equipment like a tight spandex suit, which can help lift more weight.
"The idea was to see who was the best pound-for-pound lifter, so it's not like I was up against guys my weight, I was up against some guys that were 85 or 95 kilograms. (But) I would have slaughtered them anyway," he said.
Rather than hang his hat on his new records, Jesso points out his dissatisfaction with his deadlift of 300 kg.
He thinks he could have lifted more. It's that appetite for improvement that keeps Jesso grounded despite his success. It's why he was already back in the Variety Village gym on Tuesday, June 21, training for his next meet in late fall.
"The driving force behind this was that someone else won my world championship," he said. "The guy who won that competition (this April in Turkey) lifted 805 kilograms suited. I just did 827.5 kilograms raw."
Born with one working eye, Jesso enjoyed basketball and wrestling as a teenager before losing his sight completely when he was hit in the head with a basketball at age 15. Jesso tried his hand as a massage therapist after studying health sciences in university, but decided it wasn't for him. He has been powerlifting on-and-off for over a decade now, but has only recently decided to commit to the sport full-time.
Jesso doesn't consider his blindness to be a disadvantage for him in competition. In fact, he doesn't give his condition much thought at all anymore.
"I like to think of myself as like anybody else. I used to think, 'What are people going to say about me?' and that's what held me back as an athlete before," he said. "It's up to people to make up their own minds. My days of teaching people about social issues are over."
The only thing on Jesso's mind now is winning that world championship in August 2012. And until the day he can hoist that championship trophy and silence the doubters, he's just got one thing to say to his competition.
"Enjoy yourself for the time being," he said with a laugh.