{"id":30824,"date":"2026-10-04T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=30824"},"modified":"2026-10-04T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:30:00","slug":"virginia-powerlifter-couple-redefines-disability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=30824","title":{"rendered":"Virginia powerlifter couple redefines disability"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Steve Alexy\u00a0walked carefully and pigeon-toed toward the dumbbells and mirror at the back of the gym, one arm held tight against his body, the other dangling, twitching and swinging out of sync with his gait.<\/p>\n

His longtime partner Arlyn Smith\u00a0walked duck-footed toward a pullup bar, going slow too but with short, quick, little steps that ensured she\u2019d keep her balance.<\/p>\n

Alexy, 53, reached a rack of weights and picked up 45-pound dumbbells for his warmup. And Smith, 45, strapped on a 35-pound weighted vest, grabbed the bar and pulled herself up, over and over, with ease. Here, in the gym, they don\u2019t mind being watched.<\/p>\n

The Franklin couple knows people make assumptions. It\u2019s the same every day, wherever they go together. They feel the eyes of others, all the little glances.<\/p>\n

Both accomplished weightlifters deal with muscle incoordination and slurred speech: Alexy from cerebral palsy and Smith from cerebellar ataxia. About five years ago, they started competing in powerlifting contests \u2014 not just ones for para athletes \u2014 and winning them.<\/p>\n

\"Arlyn
Arlyn Smith doing pullups while wearing a 35-pound weighted vest at Retro Flex Gym in Courtland. (Kendall Warner\/The Virginian-Pilot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They inspire each other and hope others are inspired by their story.<\/p>\n

Smith spent most of her life never knowing how strong she could be: \u201cI could have gone my entire life and never even have tried, and I wouldn\u2019t have known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the International Powerlifting Coalition recognized her as its world record holder in her weight class, 56 kilograms, and division, women\u2019s masters 45 to 49, for the deadlift. At 123 pounds, she lifted more than twice her weight: 264.5 pounds.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Alexy set a United States Powerlifting Coalition\u00a0deadlift record, 227 pounds, in his weight class, 67.5 kilograms, in the men\u2019s masters 50 to 54 division.<\/p>\n

As a child, Alexy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that affects muscle movement and coordination. He grew up in Franklin and started lifting weights as a teenager, going to the local YMCA weight room almost every day when he turned 21.<\/p>\n

Between 2014 and 2019, he competed as a bodybuilder. The competitions weren\u2019t about how much weight a contestant could lift, but about how good their muscles and tone looked onstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called it trying to look pretty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alexy said he won almost all of the 13 bodybuilding competitions that he entered.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I played,\u201d he said, smiling, \u201cI won.\u201d<\/p>\n