WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Alaina Weeks does not see the weight on a bar as an obstacle.
Rather, an opportunity.
The Special Olympics powerlifter has spent the last two years trading comfort for competition, and it has paid off.
"I call her the bulldog, that's her nickname in the gym," said Weeks' coach Zach Privette. "She is the most determined, the hardest-working girl on the team. I mean, she just, she gets it done."
Privette said he wishes his other clients had the same mindset as Weeks.
"I started to get stronger, and I started to eat better," Weeks said.
That discipline recently led Weeks to a national spotlight: the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, which happen once every four years.
Weeks was one of just two powerlifters selected to represent team Ohio and compete. She was the only female.
WATCH: Fairfield native wins gold at Special Olympics USA Games
"I like to win," Weeks said.
And she did. Weeks took home three medals from the Land of 10,000 Lakes: two gold in deadlift and overall, and one silver in bench press.
Privette said the result was bound to happen.
"She told me probably like six months out, she's like, 'I'm getting gold coach. I'm getting gold.' I was like, yeah, of course you are, Alaina," he said.
But the medals only tell part of the story. The two also came home from the USA Games with matching friendship bracelets, a symbol of the bond that Privette said means as much as any podium finish.
"It's pretty cool. It's very cool. Very proud- more like a proud dad kind of feeling," he said. "She is probably one of the biggest inspirations that we have."
"(Privette is) amazing," Weeks added.
Weeks and Privette will now train for a spot at the Special Olympics World Games, which take place next summer in Belize.
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