A WORLD renowned and awe-inspiring powerlifter with Down Syndrome is celebrating after he returned home with two gold medals and a double European champion title. 

Dan McGauley, 33, a double World-champion, four-times Commonwealth Champion and British Champion has now collected another two gold medals during the European Bench Press Championship. 

Dan, who is from Colchester, was born with a heart defect and underwent two rounds of open surgery when he was aged four months and two years.

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He was temporarily wheelchair-bound and first got into powerlifting more than ten years ago when he visited the gym to lose weight.

He won his first gold medal at an international competition during the Powerlifting Commonwealth Championship back in 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. 

Now Dan has returned after a double victory in Bordeaux, France, for equipped bench press and classic bench press.

Dan’s powerlifting has even inspired his mum, Judith, to take up the sport and even compete alongside her son.

She has since won gold medals in her age category at the last Commonwealth Games in Canada and South Africa and a silver and a gold medal during the recent European Championship. 

She said: "This was his first European Championship and first Equipped Bench Press Championship and he scored two gold medals. 

"I started training alongside him years after he started and he always jokes around saying that he has way more gold medals than me.

"He is just a brilliant person. He loves the sport and everyone around him supports him."

Judith said it was incredible to see the fantastic support Dan has.  

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She added: "He gets messages from his fans all around the world.

"During every competition, there are always people supporting him from corners of the world and I find it amazing. 

"Dan especially loved equipped lifting, which is very difficult and a lot harder than just lifting, but he loved to get on his kit. 

"I can only describe him as extraordinary for everything that he does."