'The only person that holds you back in life is yourself'
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FIFE, Wash. -- A Washington powerlifter who once made a name for herself on the national stage is now making headlines for another reason.
Ali McWeeny of Ellensburg was once a force to be reckoned with in the world of weighlifting, but that all changed three years ago when she lost her left leg in a boating accident.
Doctors said she would never lift weights again, but McWeeny had other ideas. She's now competing again, and her inspirational story was enough to bring her former coach out of retirement.
"I told her if you ever compete in a powerlifting meet again -- a full meet -- I'll come out of retirement and come lift with you. So that's why I'm here today," said her coach, Kevin Stewart.
McWeeny was in Fife on Saturday for a meet, but simply attending the event wasn't enough -- she wanted to test her limits.
Balancing on one leg, McWeeny lifted 121 pounds. The lift was her best since the accident -- a full 17 pounds more than her previous record.
The event was proof that even gravity can't keep the human spirit down.
"The only person that holds you back in life is yourself, and there's no limits to life," McWeeny said. "Life is limitless and that's your choice to limit yourself or not."
In addition to her work in the gym, McWeeny is also reaching out to help others. She recently helped create the Ali McWeeny Award to honor others lifters who have overcome challenges in life.
Ali McWeeny of Ellensburg was once a force to be reckoned with in the world of weighlifting, but that all changed three years ago when she lost her left leg in a boating accident.
Doctors said she would never lift weights again, but McWeeny had other ideas. She's now competing again, and her inspirational story was enough to bring her former coach out of retirement.
"I told her if you ever compete in a powerlifting meet again -- a full meet -- I'll come out of retirement and come lift with you. So that's why I'm here today," said her coach, Kevin Stewart.
McWeeny was in Fife on Saturday for a meet, but simply attending the event wasn't enough -- she wanted to test her limits.
Balancing on one leg, McWeeny lifted 121 pounds. The lift was her best since the accident -- a full 17 pounds more than her previous record.
The event was proof that even gravity can't keep the human spirit down.
"The only person that holds you back in life is yourself, and there's no limits to life," McWeeny said. "Life is limitless and that's your choice to limit yourself or not."
In addition to her work in the gym, McWeeny is also reaching out to help others. She recently helped create the Ali McWeeny Award to honor others lifters who have overcome challenges in life.
Your great Ali, thanks for the inspiration! )
- If you wanted to fly like superman without a special suit, you're not being held back. Â Gravity and laws of physics is.
- If you're trying to escape and a dude has you pinned down, he's holding you back.
- If you have perfect credit and the lenders don't approve you for a mortgage to get a new house, the lenders are holding you back from getting a home.Â
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3 of many examples that the headline statement is not always true.
 @AdAckbar I assume the headline should not be understood literally ;) more like among the lines of "do your best with what you have and, most likely, you will have amazing results".
Wow. Â What an inspiration.
@JusticeSeeker Well said.
Well, in this country at least, opportunity is everywhere. But you do have to work hard, and keep a good attitude, as this young lady is doing.
Way to go Ali. Thank you very much for the inspiration!
Except for all the back stabbing, sabotaging, lying, cheating people you run into on a daily basis.Â
That headline statement is not always true. People who are laid off is not responsible for the poor business decisions is one such example. There are a lot of people who are struggling with the stigma of being laid off and are at the whims of potential employers as those employers use the unemployed to stack their interviews even though the decision is already made.
I wonder how she'd handle being held back by forces out of her control. Â
 @Sovereign liike having her leg lopped off? lol what a moron
@CWShortbus
Actually, no, not like having her leg lopped off.  I imagined a different scenario that actually occurs in real life where people are deliberately held back by dishonest, cruel, jealous people. One example would be workplace bullying situations.  Victims in those types of scenarios can do nothing about being "held back" in their lives no matter what they try because of the sophisticated evil of their oppressors.  Such victims are real and are powerless.Â
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This is a cute inspirational story and all, but the reality is that other people can hold you back in life.Â
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Now try to go about your life without calling strangers names over the internet because that's a pretty foolish, pointless thing to do and only makes you look bad.
 @Sovereign No offense, but strong-spirited people usually aren't bullied. Can you imagine someone bullying a powerlifer or a boxer, for example? Victims certainly are not powerless, they have a wide range of options depending on the circumstances of their case - from just ignoring and hoping that they'll go away, to beating the bully up or setting the bully into some sort of legal trouble or just finding a new job. :) There always are options.
 @CWShortbus Baderk Meherrrrr  BUUUURRRNN A FERM!!! ERMAHGERD!  YER MERD A FERNY!
so true the only person holding you back is the person in the mirror, not any onelse. Good for her!
A 'wounded warrior' if ever I saw one. Keep on keepin' on, Ali!
Very impressive... but I wonder how long her knee will last? Great spirit!
I though it was the white man.
man some of you people are the most sore losers still trying to shoehorn political jabs into every comment thread. so pathetic. just let it go and be happy for this strong willed woman.
If more people had this young woman's attitude.We would have less people on welfare and less people blaming others for there problems.Â
 @Tacobender50 this is so off-topic it's disgusting
 @Tacobender50 You know, I was just going to post how awesome she is (and that is true), but some people have trouble making every single article on KOMO about their own agenda. That is sad. Very sad.
 @Seadude333 Sad for you, not for me.There is some life lessons you might learn here.
 @Tacobender50 What does attitude have to do with a lack of economic opportunities?
@geoduck17 @Tacobender50 you make your own Opertunities. If you wait for things to happen then nothing will happen. You move to were the work is you work what ever job you can get. I live by a very simple rules 1 no one owes me a living, 2 If i have money i don't need to worry about my credit score and if I have credit I will never have money. I buy my cars new in with my own money I make the car payment to me if a car cost ex amount and the montly payment is examount for 48 months I make that payment to me not to the bank and you know what I get a new car every 48 months. I make less then 60 grand and I am mortgage free and debt free why because I refuse to live off credit. I will not be slave to any bank or gov't.
@geoduck17 @Tacobender50 You want an "economic opportunity"? try the military, fast food, housekeeping, telemarketing (i've done them all by the way). . . ., but back to this young woman - she is making her own "luck" - her own success . . .that is the difference between her and so many of the rest of us.
 @geoduck17 So, I'm put it in Liberal terms so you can understand.Get motivated and get off your rear end and do something with your life instead of blaming others.This young lady has over come a lot and she is will not let anything or anybody get in her way.Â
 @geoduck17  @Tacobender50 i've always been confused by this "lack of jobs" thing since 2010. I've had a job since 2006, several to be exact and there's many more all over the place, especially if one has a degree. Blaming a situation on your problem wont solve the problem, so you gotta fix it. get off of the news, get onto CL, monster, etc. and start applying to jobs. visit local job websites and apply directly on there. it's not that hard! by the way, im 26 and I work at Boeing and I have no degrees yet but im going to school. Get on it man!
@AdAckbar @raven Your remarks take upsurd to a whole new level.
 @Jatok  @raven And i've been saying, "I'm gonna win the lottery this week" for the last 10 years buying tickets got me a winning ticket.  Not!
@raven Attitude can still play a role in whether you suceed or fail. Getting laid off is not easy, but if you still maintain a good attitude it's more likely you will suceed in finding a new job. At any rate sitting around moping about it won't move a person one step closer to where they want to be.
@DylanJ @geoduck17 @Tacobender50 You are so wrong. I was laid off and have a degree - it still took me well over a year to land a job.
 @DylanJ  @geoduck17 Thats what I'm talking about.Right on!
She's an inspiration...... Very impressive and disciplined! :D)
 @Funky-Munky Speaking of, welcome back! We missed you.Â
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Kudos to Ali, best wishes on all of your future goals! Oh, and don't forget to enjoy it along the way. :^D
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I thought white men and the wealthy were the only ones that could hold you back?Â
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 @deadcandance I do agree with a lot of what you say. Some people have way more opportunity and of course $$ has a too much to do with it. However, I think the lesson we should take from this courageous young lady is we can ALL make the most of what we do have and not take it for granted.Â
 @deadcandance thank you for being such a downer. "In context" her story and words are inspirational. Neither, she, I nor you are born into a place where we're killed for being female and to tear this kid down for being a female American and saying something without quantifying it first is mean-spirited.
 @chandler  @deadcandance It's not being a downer.  It's harsh reality people don't like being told.