A BRIT power-lifter who stands 3ft 8ins tall has won a world title for able-bodied athletes.
Rich Willis, 48, who has dwarfism, bench-pressed twice his body weight in Moscow to achieve a world-record lift of 97.5kg.
SWNS:South West News Service
SWNS:South West News Service
SWNS:South West News Service
For years Rich was in and out of hospital for surgery and in 2004 doctors said he could lose both legs to arthritis.
But life has been made easier by his six-year-old daughter, Cherry, and wife, Charlotte Willis.
Cherry, who did not inherit her father’s condition, has a ‘unique’ relationship with her dad – even though she is now taller than him.
The youngster ties his shoelaces, washes the dishes, puts his socks on, climbs up on him to reach the top shelf and helps pour his protein shake.
SWNS:South West News Service
SWNS:South West News Service
SWNS:South West News Service
Until 2016 he had never lifted a weight. Then daughter Cherry, six, saw Paralympic power-lifters on TV and told him: “You could do that, Daddy.”
“It has been a whirlwind year and my daughter is stoked by what I’ve achieved which is all I wanted.
“The message I want to get out there is no matter your limitations you should give things a go – who knows what someone can achieve and there is no shame in trying.”
Rich, from Driffield, East Yorks, is now aiming for a place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
