Maryville man competing for Team Tennessee in the Special Olympics USA Games

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Brad Davis was chosen to compete in Powerlifting for Team Tennessee at the Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando at ESPN Sports Complex. He will compete with more than a hundred Tennesseans for Team Tennessee for one week in June.

Brad is autistic and nonverbal. Brad’s dad, Kent Davis, said his son hoped to break his personal record.

“I’ve seen individuals exceed beyond expectations. You know, it’s no secret that people feel like a lot of our disabled young adults sometimes are not as capable. And yet, when you see them in these settings, in these environments, and you see them compete, in like in powerlifting, for example, the weight is no different from Brett, you know when you see them perform at those levels of, of competence. It’s really electrifying,” said Davis.

Chip Holquist was one of Brad’s trainers. He’s worked with Brad for the last five years.

“If someone’s watching him in competition, they may not expect him to pull over 300 pounds, but he will,” said Holquist.

According to the Special Olympics Tennessee website, “Team TN will have athletes competing in Flag Football, Basketball, Track, Swimming, Bocce, Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Powerlifting, and Volleyball. The delegation will stay at the Wide World of Sports hotel at Disneyworld with most sports competing at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports.”

You can follow along to see how Brad does on his Facebook page.

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