Pensacola Special Olympics veteran powerlifter gears up for nationals
Troy Moon
Brandon Sandford was a competitive swimmer and track and field athlete when he was younger.
Now, the muscly Pensacola 35-year-old just lifts weights. In fact, he's competing in three powerlifting events — squat, bench and dead lift — at the Special Olympics USA games July 1 to 6 in Seattle.
So Brandon, how much can you lift?
"A lot."
If you're a fellow competitor, that has to be a little intimidating. It doesn't get any easier for opponents when you hear his credentials: 16 Special Olympic gold medals since he began competing at age 8. (He's been weightlifting since 2012.)
"I'm getting tired of winning gold medals,'' he said, sitting on the weight bench at Victor's Gym on Old Corry Field Road in Warrington, where he trains three times a week with his coach, gym owner Victor Grant.
Would he prefer silver?
That sounded even less exciting.
"No, I'll just win gold."
Sandford, who has Down syndrome, is the only athlete from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties who qualified at the state level to advance to the national Special Olympics competition.
He might be confident, but he's not coasting to the nationals either. After all, this is the first time he's qualified for nationals in his quarter-century participating in Special Olympics.
"He's got an awesome work ethic — when he's awake,'' joked Grant, who is the Florida Nationals powerlifting coach. Florida is sending three powerlifters to the Special Olympics. "He always brings intensity to his events."
Sandford is fairly independent, except he doesn't drive. His mother, Sue DeGasparre, or his stepfather of 28 years, Jack DeGasparre, get him to where he needs to go, be it the gym or the Winn Dixie on Sorrento Road, where he has worked since graduating from Escambia High School in 2002.
"He's pretty awesome,'' said co-worker Tiffani Barnes, front-end specialist at the Winn-Dixie near Perdido Key. "And he always volunteers for the dirty jobs, or the jobs no one else likes to do. He'll just start cleaning the bathrooms or getting the carts from out front. You don't have to tell him."
It's that same work ethic that Sandford has transferred over to his events. Grant said there's little coaching he has to do for Sandford these days and he acts more as a guide than a coach.
One recent morning, Grant was adding weight to the bar for Sandford to bench press. He'll be competing in a lower weight category than he would have in November when he weighted 191 pounds. Now, Sandford weighs 162 pounds. (He's just a tad under 5 feet tall.)
"We're trying to keep his strength the same, but at a lower weight class,'' Grant said. "He's got a really great chance to do well."
But honestly, even if he does well and qualifies for the Special Olympics World Games next March in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, he's not sure if he'll compete.
"I don't want to go,'' he said. "No I don't."
"He's a homebody,'' said his stepfather.
But if Sandford did qualify and decided to go to Abu Dhabi, his stepfather said he'd be a hit.
"He just affects people in a special way,'' DeGasparre said, even noting the friendship that developed between him and Sandford's father, who passed away a few years ago, because of their common love for Sandford. "He doesn't even know he's having this influence on them. But he's taught me so much about life. I'm amazed by him every day."
Troy Moon can be reached at tmoon@pnj.com and 850-435-8541.