Perth based powerlifter and WAIS scholarship holder Darren Gardiner is preparing to represent Australia at next year’s London Paralympics.
With a best world rank of number two, Gardiner will be looking to take that extra step and bring home gold in London, which if he travels will be his fourth Paralympic campaign.
Earlier this year Gardiner competed in the Arafura Games in the Northern Territory Australia where he won gold in the 2011 Oceania Paralympics Championships
Gardiner first started competing in powerlifting in 1995, but It wasn’t until 1998 that he first began to represent Australia in the sport. Gardiner, who lost his left leg below the knee due to cancer, is best known as ‘the bear’ because of the fearsome roar he delivers as part of his pre-lift routine.
Gardiner, a three-time Paralympian and two-time medallist, is specialised in the super heavy weight 100kg+ class.
At the Athens Paralympics in 2004 Gardiner won silver by lifting a weight of 227.5 kilograms. In 2006, he again won a silver medal at the World Championships and then a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games opening competition in Melbourne. In 2007, he gained silver at the European Open.
At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Gardiner gave a stellar performance winning a second silver medal. The Bear was one of four Australians whom competed in the Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD) powerlifting events in China.
Gardiner – who first moved to Western Australia from Queensland in 2005 – says his greatest moment to date, was competing in front of a home crowd at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics.
-Wheelchair Sports WA
