Eight Powerlifters Set to Represent Team USA at 2023 Parapan American Games
by Kristen Gowdy
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – U.S. Paralympics Powerlifting today announced the eight athletes – including three who competed at this summer’s 2023 Para Powerlifting World Championships – who will don the Stars and Stripes in November at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
The Games kick off Nov. 17 and conclude Nov. 26. Forty-one nations from the Americas are expected to field more than 1,900 athletes.
“We are incredibly excited about the team we have selected to represent the United States in Santiago,” Whitney Carter, Director of Internally Managed Sports at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, said. “These powerlifters bring a mix of veteran experience and fresh talent to the table, and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do against the continent’s best.”
Headlining the roster for Team USA are three athletes who recently competed on the world’s biggest stage at the 2023 Para Powerlifting World Championships in August. Returning to international competition for the first time since Dubai are Jacob Herbert (Indianapolis, Indiana), Garrison Redd (Brownsville, New York) and Bobby Body (Fremont, Michigan).
Body led the charge for the Americans at world championships, bringing home two silver medals in the men’s 107 kg. legends division. The 49-year-old finished in the top-10 in his weight class in best lift.
Herbert, who made his second career world championships appearance, placed 16th overall and 19th in best lift in the men’s 59 kg. competition. Redd, who served as Team USA’s flagbearer at the event, finished 22nd in best lift and 24th overall in the men’s 65 kg. class.
All three athletes will make their Parapan Games debut. Two-time Paralympian Ahmed Shafik (Tuscon, Arizona) is the sole member of the team who has previously competed at the Parapan level. Shafik is a two-time Parapans medalist, most recently taking silver in Lima, Peru, at the 2019 Parapan American Games. He also won bronze at the 2015 edition of the Games.
Returning to the international stage for Team USA is Antonio Martin (Utica, Michigan), who missed this year’s world championships but is set for his Parapan American Games debut. The 34-year-old finished fourth at the 2019 world championships and also has a gold medal from last November’s African Open Championships.
Making her Parapan American Games debut will be three-time world championships participant Ashley Dyce (Colton, California), who most recently competed on the world stage at the 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she placed 12th in the women’s over 86 kg. division.
Rounding out the team are first-time Parapan American Games team members David Horvath (Linn, Missouri) and Brett Forbes (Bonne Terre, Missouri). The 18-year-old Forbes competed as a rookie at the 2022 World Para Powerlifting American Open in St. Louis, Missouri, where he broke an America’s rookie record. A senior at Lindenwood University at the time, Horvath also competed in St. Louis, where he won two silver medals – one in the open and one in the regional competition. Both are competing internationally for Team USA for the first time.
Para powerlifting competition in Santiago will run Nov. 18-21, 2023. Follow U.S. Paralympics Powerlifting on Instagram for updates and results from the competition.
For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.
2023 U.S. Paralympics Powerlifting Parapan American Games Roster
Bobby Body
Ashley Dyce
Brett Forbes
Jacob Herbert
David Horvath
Antonio Martin
Garrison Redd
Ahmed Shafik