Hamilton County Powerlifters to Compete in Iceland

Two Special Olympics Indiana Hamilton County athletes will compete Friday, Nov. 15, in Reykjavik, Iceland, as part of the U.S. delegation to the 2024 IPF World Equipped Open Powerlifting Championships.

Sky Simpson and Ben Boehm earned their spots on the world’s biggest stage in powerlifting through their rankings in Powerlifting America competitions. The pair will compete within the Special Olympics category.

“Ben and Sky have trained for more than two years to prepare for this opportunity,” said Kyle Moran, the Special Olympics Indiana Manager of Health and Fitness and a U.S. coach at this event. “They are ready to take on this challenge, and we look forward to seeing them compete on a world stage.”

Simpson and Boehm will compete in the combined event that includes squat, bench press and deadlift.

Boehm, 23, joined Special Olympics Indiana in 2014. He swept all four of his events at the 2024 Summer Games, earning gold in bench press, deadlift, squat and combination. Simpson, 23, has competed with Special Olympics Indiana since 2015, earning a gold medal in bench press and bronze medals in squat and the combined event.

“Sky loves to lift weights and loves big muscles,” Moran told the Carmel Current. “He really gravitated to the sport quickly. It’s been great to see his overall confidence grow. He’s always been strong but he’s been able to do sprints, medicine ball work and jumping.

“Ben went from squatting a 16-pound kettlebell on his first day of training to at the last Indiana Summer Games powerlifting event, he front squatted just under 200 pounds. It’s cool to see that progression in a short amount of time.”

Spectators can watch the competition livestreamed here.

Special Olympics Indiana is a nonprofit organization that offers sport, health, education and leadership programs to empower individuals with intellectual disabilities and help break down stereotypes around them by using sports as a catalyst for social change. More than 19.000 Hoosier athletes compete in 21 sports across the state.