At Full Strength: Team Indiana Powerlifters Shine Onstage

One personal record.

Going into the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, that’s all Team Indiana powerlifter Katlin Slough wanted.

She got that PR in deadlift at 105 kg and earned a silver medal.

In her other two events, she received a gold medal, winning her division of bench press (52.5 kg) and squat (90 kg). For combination (all three events), she earned her third gold medal of USA Games with 247.5 kg.

As much as she appreciated the PR, Slough of Gibson County was happy about three gold medals and one silver.

“I worked really hard for it,” she said. “I worked with my trainer. I worked three days a week, just an hour or 45 minutes, but it felt like an hour, just all the time. My squat was OK, bench was iffy and then my deadlift, I killed it. I just felt like I accomplished something.”

She thought her three teammates performed strong onstage, too.

“We just killed it and had a good time, and that’s what it was about, just having fun,” Slough said. “I’m just proud of myself. It’s just been a blast, and I got to meet new people, and the pins were fun to trade.”

Victoria Turner of Putnam County was the sole Team Indiana powerlifter to kick off competition Monday.

She didn’t disappoint, taking gold in squat (70.14 kg) and deadlift (103.80 kg), bronze in bench press (39.27 kg) and silver in combination (213.21).

“She had missed her first two squats of the day,” Team Indiana coach Seamus Cox of Lake County. “If she missed her third, she would have been disqualified. She had a very big squat, and when she hit it, I started crying because that also gave her the gold medal.”

The other two powerlifters, Liam Price of Johnson County and Andrew Dziezak of Lake County, competed Thursday. They were in the same division.

Price earned a gold medal in deadlift (133.78 kg), a silver medal in squat (114.88 kg) and combination (314.09) and a bronze medal in bench press (65.43).

Dziezak received silver in deadlift (119.93 kg), bronze in squat (109.93 kg) and combination (282.68 kg) and a fourth-place medal in bench press (52.82 kg).