A POWERLIFTER whose parents were told he may never walk has defended his title as a commonwealth champion.

Daniel McGauley, 27, from Highwoods, Colchester, was only given a year to live when he was born.

He has Down’s Syndrome, autism and is deaf in one ear.

He has been through three major heart operations, 29 operations on his ears and was in a wheelchair until he was eight.

But Daniel defied all the odds and started powerlifting seriously about four years ago.

In 2015, he went to Canada to represent Great Britain in the Special Olympics and came away with four gold medals.

A couple of weeks ago he continued his winning streak at the South Africa Special Olympics, walking away with two gold and three silver medals.

His mum, Judith, said: “He got the first gold for Great Britain whilst he was in Canada and he just wanted to go to South Africa to defend his title.

Gazette:

“He still trains six days a week and he is still very dedicated, even more so now than he was.

“He’s really strict about what he eats, although after a competition he always has Guinness and bacon.”

He became interested in powerlifting when he started going to the gym to improve his fitness.

Daniel trains at Hamiltons gym, on Severalls Business Park, Colchester.

As well as training, he takes part in swimming, martial arts and fencing, and has completed two Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

He also attends life skills classes at Penny Meadow in Copford.

He has a bright future ahead and has more competitions in the pipeline.

Mrs McGauley said: “We are trying to arrange for him to go to Prague in November and Abu Dhabi in 2019.

“He always does a charity deadlift around November for Help for Heroes.”

The family are also grateful for the support they have received and said the trip to South Africa would not have been possible without sponsorship from Anglian Community Enterprise and Provide in Colchester.