I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet – Old Russian proverb
“I see my name, country and score flashing on the electronic board and I blink many times. I have won silver for my country and myself. I have done it and I can’t believe my eyes. My wildest dreams have come true and the tears start flowing. A short while later, my happiness is tinged with sadness: my family, my friends and my coach aren’t here to share this moment of a lifetime with me. I cannot explain how alone I feel, that the people I care for the most are not here with me. The silver around my neck would have been more than gold, had they been here.”
When Phouthavong Sisavengsouk (Pim) lifted 151 kg to win silver at the 7th ASEAN Para Games, Myanmar 2014, he put to rest the disappointment he had felt at the previous games in Indonesia 2011. A miscommunication between his coach and the judges had seen him disqualified on a technicality. So near and yet so far.
I’m no stranger to broken bones and have had my leg in a cast a few times. I remember the feeling of utter inadequacy and the extreme frustration at not being able to do the things that came so naturally to people around me. Watching Pim, polio-stricken as a child, swivel his wheelchair to load a five-kilogram plate on the barbell, his ready smile and his general cheerfulness, reminded me that I had not been a very patient or pleasant person, when I had had broken limbs. I heaved a sigh of relief that I had got away so lightly.
The disappointment in Indonesia was hard to take and despite the regular visits to the gym, he became increasingly dispirited. Two years ago he met American Sam Hollrah, working out at the same gym and they soon became gym buddies. Sam, a powerlifter in his native Texas, gave Pim tips on improving his technique. More importantly, Sam got Pim to focus on the future, not on his past. “I pushed him. I didn’t let him feel sorry for himself. If he dropped something, he had to pick it up himself,” Sam told Champa Holidays.
Then the big chance came and he was given two months to prepare for the 7th ASEAN Para Games in Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar. He wet to another gym in the evenings for a further two hours of weight training. He worked harder on his triceps and shoulders. Sam advised him to lose weight, so that he could enter in a lower category. He stayed away from sugar and alcohol and increased his intake of fruit and vegetables. The preparation cost a lot of money stretching his family’s limited resources. Pim received a small amount from the Lao Paralympic Committee but it was inadequate. The cash award of 10 million kip ($1,250) promised to him for winning the silver medal will be welcome when it eventually arrives.
Champa Holidays asked Pim what he did when he wasn’t working out, did he have other interests? He used to play basketball but that was too difficult from a wheelchair. Also, he preferred working alone. He draws when he has the time and makes handicrafts from dried coconut shells. So, was he an artist or a powerlifter? He held up his silver medal with a chuckle.
But he is not resting on that success. His immediate goal is to take part in the Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea in October this year but that depends on his finding sponsorship. And Rio 2016? Pim rolls his eyes and his face fills with a big smile.
Does Pim see himself retiring? No, he says, but in the future he’d like to become a trainer, working especially with people like himself. So, does he have any message for young Lao people today? He thinks for a while, then answers. “If you want something really badly, you have to work for it.” Then looking at Sam, he adds with a big smile, “ and only listen to people who tell you, you can do it.”
(Published in Champa Holidays – Apr-May 2014)
Wow Laos 