Local strongman earns medals

For 10 years, Matt Jaekel has trained at least three times a week, pumping iron to become the best in the world. Last month, his dream was realized as he returned from Ireland with two bronze medals and two silver medals around his neck.

Jaekel, a Big Lake Special Olympian, was America's shining hope in the powerlifting events at the World Special Olympic Summer Games, and he came through in a big way. In the 181-pound division, he took bronze overall, finishing only behind an athlete from Iceland and an athlete from Turkmenistan. Jaekel won a silver in the bench press, a silver in the squat and a bronze in the dead lift. Returning home with medals made Jaekel an instant hit.

"Matt met a lot of good people, and he was really proud of his medals and the things he brought back from Ireland," said Dean Estelle, Matt's Job Ready coordinator. "He's been showing off his medals to everyone."

Jaekel, 25, started lifting weights more than 10 years ago at Rama Fitness with Ray Anselm. He's competed and dominated the state Special Olympic powerlifting competitions, but this was his first time on the international stage.

"When the gym opened about 10 years ago, my wife went in and asked Ray if he could work with a Down's child," Tom Jaekel, Matt's father, said. "He said he hadn't before but would like to try, and it's been perfect."

Jaekel's dedication to the sport never wavers. Three days a week, he works out with Anselm, who is the only coach Jaekel has ever had.

"A lot of teens are into instant gratification and when they come to the gym and see Matt, they're like, 'Ooooh,'" Tom Jaekel said. "They come and go in six weeks or so, while Matt keeps going and lifting. When he's got his shirt off, he's a big guy."

When Anselm closed his gym and moved to Willow, Jaekel started making the trip up the Parks Highway to continue his training.

"Ray deserves a lot of credit for everything he's done with Matt," Tom Jaekel said. "Matt trusts him so much. At the World Games, Matt was worried because Ray couldn't be on the stage with him, and Matt kept asking the other coaches if there were going to be good spotters, because Ray has always been his spotter."

While Jaekel's parents, Tom and Saetta, are proud of their son, Jaekel's coworkers are just as happy for him. Jaekel works two hours a day at Steve's Food Boy in Big Lake, and he has made quite an impression on his fellow employees.

"When he got back he would wear his Team USA jacket around and show everybody he could find his medals," Suzy Winters, a Steve's Food Boy employee, said. "He had a huge smile on his face, and you could tell how proud he was. And we're proud of him, too. It's a big accomplishment for him."

His lifts were in kilograms. In the bench press, he lifted the equivalent to 253 1/2 pounds, he dead-lifted 374 3/4 pounds and squatted 286 1/2 pounds. He was in one of the toughest divisions in the entire meet, and many of his lifts would have won him the gold medal in weight classes much higher than his. His bench press, for example, was the third-best lift in the entire competition, regardless of weight category.

Even though he's an international champion now, Jaekel isn't resting on his laurels. He'll keep working out with Anselm, his father said, to maintain his physique. Come January, he'll start powerlifting again in order to be ready for next June's state Summer Games.