Clinton — Diagnosed with dwarfism at age 5 and subjected to schoolyard taunts of “cripple” as a youngster in Manchester, England, Jason Irving eventually ended up in Clinton, Ind.
Now 33, the 4-foot-9 Irving and his wife, the former Judith Kuhn of Clinton, have a 6-year-old son, Kristian.
All are dwarfs.
But this column isn’t all about dwarfism because, frankly, there’s a more interesting aspect to Irving’s life.
And after all, this is supposed to be a sports column.
You see, Irving is an accomplished bench-press specialist who has represented Great Britain all over the world.
In the 2006 Commonwealth Games at Melbourne, Australia, he won a silver medal in the Open Division with a bench press of 369.3 pounds.
In the 2004 Athens Paralympics, Irving came in fifth in the 132-pound weight class.
He’s also the British record holder in the International Powerlifting Federation’s 132-pound class with a lift of 396 pounds (without wearing a special tight-fitting bench shirt that most competitors use).
Irving even met his future wife while competing in the American Dwarf Athletic Association U.S. National Games in Denver in July 1995. As a member of Great Britain’s team in several sports, including powerlifting, Irving had a roommate who introduced him to Judith. They hit it off, got married in 1997 and lived in Manchester for several years before moving to Clinton about a year ago.
Irving, whose form of dwarfism is called pseudoachondroplasia and whose parents are a little less than 6 feet tall, said he started competing in the bench press in 1992. He entered his first international meet in 1993.
As recently as last month, he earned a silver medal in the 132-pound class with a bench press of 380 pounds in the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games at Chinese Taipei. For the record, Irving is not confined to a wheelchair, but the organization offers a division for people with dwarfism, polio and other non-wheelchair disabilities.
Irving said the dwarfism does not negatively affect his ability to bench-press.
“It’s actually an advantage because of my short range,” said the likable Irving, who measures 17 inches from his shoulders to his wrists. “I don’t have to drive it up as far.”
Partially because of the dwarfism, Irving can’t compete in the other two lifts in full-fledged powerlifting meets.
He can’t do the squat because he was born with half a hip and he has a dislocated left knee. His only leg training is walking on a treadmill. And deadlifting a bar off the floor would be extremely difficult because his small hands do not allow him to grip it tightly enough.
But Irving is more thankful for what he can do than despondent over what he can’t do.
As a youngster, he enjoyed playing soccer, cricket and badminton. When he was 11, however, doctors diagnosed that he would probably be confined to a wheelchair within three years.
Never happened.
“I’m very driven to stay on my feet and keep doing stuff,” Irving said before a light workout at the Seventh Street Health and Fitness club in Clinton on Tuesday.
Irving usually trains with Rick Mosley of Clinton three times a week at Seventh Street Health and Fitness, although Mosley was not present for Tuesday’s session.
Best wishes to Irving, who’s planning to enter the Beijing Paralympic Games in September 2008. His toughest challenge probably won’t be the dwarfism; it’ll be the strict dieting that he must endure so he can compete in 123-pound class.
As a former powerlifter myself, 6 feet tall, dieting was always my least favorite part too.
David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
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