As the world’s top weightlifters take to the Olympic finals next week, a teenager with Down’s syndrome is setting his sights on the Special Olympics.

Bleddyn Gibbs, 16, from Milford Haven, has been powerlifting for over two years. Bleddyn has Down’s syndrome, a genetic condition which approximately 40,000 people in the UK live with.

The need for him to shield and ongoing lockdowns throughout the pandemic meant that Bleddyn was unable attend his usual strength training gym.

In a letter to Sport Wales during lockdown, he said: “I am 16 years old. I go to Strength Academy Wales. The thing I am most looking forward to is training with my friends. I want to be very strong like The Rock again by doing bench press, clean and jerk, hanging knee raises and doing the multi-gym. I have missed my friends so much, I can’t wait to see them.”

With restrictions almost fully lifted, he has returned to the gym and is focused on his ambitions to compete in powerlifting at the Special Olympics, the world’s largest organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Bleddyn trains at Strength Academy Wales, an accredited centre for Special Olympic Great Britain and the only Special Olympic powerlifting centre in Wales.

Strength Academy Wales is an inclusive social enterprise, run by volunteers, with opportunities for everyone including those with intellectual disabilities or impairments.

Bleddyn's father Steff Gibbs, said: “Being in an inclusive environment where he’s able to train with others has given Bleddyn the opportunity to build confidence, learn etiquette and gain some useful life skills. Being away from this social hub was probably the hardest part of lockdown.

“Bleddyn is ambitious with everything he does but he’s really set his sights on weightlifting. The training hasn’t just helped him physically, although his strength and technique has improved hugely, his social skills have really benefited.”

Sarah Powell, CEO of Sport Wales, said: “With the Olympics currently on our screens and hoping to inspire a nation, Bleddyn’s story is a heart-warming example of the positive effects that exercising has on both physical and mental wellbeing.”