inspirational shytLong Island double amputee is wrestler, powerlifter and 2016 Paralympic hopeful - NY Daily News
Powerlifter Rohan Murphy is swift as he bounces between machines at a Golds Gym in Long Island, a dozen push-ups here, a set of pull-ups there, maybe a quick 300 lb. bench press.
Hes fast especially for someone with no legs and no one in the gym blinks an eye.
A severe birth defect left both of the 28-year-old athletes legs deformed.
My kneecaps were on the opposite side, my legs were basically backwards, Murphy explains.
They were amputated when he was four years old. Now, he maneuvers around the gyms machines in a wheelchair, grabs a spotter when he needs a boost and walks on whats left of his legs when hes on the floor.
The self-described gym rat can be found at the Islip, L.I. gym four to five times a week, so often that the initial shock of watching a double amputee bench-press 350 pounds his personal record has long worn off for other members and the staff.
As the 2012 Paralympics take place in London through Sept. 9, Murphy keeps a close watch. His goal: a gold medal in powerlifting at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
Murphy, who makes his living as a motivational speaker, says speaking gigs kept him from trying for this years Games. Instead, hes busy pumping up crowds of kids and explaining what it takes to succeed at grade schools and universities across the U.S.
Most schools dont even have someone in a wheelchair, he says. Its good for them to see someone with a disability. Now when they see someone in Wal-Mart in a wheelchair, they dont look down on them. They dont take their own lives for granted.
But athletics remain a focus. After a childhood spent longingly on the sidelines, a physical education teacher introduced Murphy to wrestling in eighth grade.
He totally changed my life forever, Murphy says.
The coach first made Murphy the teams manager, but then eyeing the teens incredible upper-body strength thought he might be a better fit on the mat.
Murphy went on to wrestle for Penn State despite a guidance counselors well-meaning-but-insulting recommendation to enroll in a community college closer to home.
After I graduated [from Penn State], I went back to my old high school, went inside the main office, made a photocopy of my degree and I put it in his mailbox, he recalled.
take it elsewhere
