‘My new hero’: Schwarzenegger hails athlete with cerebral palsy who deadlifts double his body weight
Arnold Schwarzenegger knows a thing or two about pumping iron, so when the muscleman himself praises your efforts you know you’ve done something special – as was the case with weightlifter Miles Taylor, who has cerebral palsy.
Body builder-turned-actor-turned politician Schwarzenegger hailed the youngster as his “new hero,” after the motivational speaker and keen weightlifter, who is 99lbs, shared footage of himself lifting double his own body weight.
Taylor – who goes by the name 'Smiles' on social media – sharedthe 200lb deadlift with his 141,000 followers on Instagram, where he can be seen getting words of encouragement from his coach Nicolai Myers before completing the impressive feat.
The footage has racked up 330,000 views in two days on Taylor’s account, but gained even more attention when it was picked up and shared by US outlet ESPN – earning a further 213,000 ‘likes’.
It then came to the attention of Schwarzenegger, 71, who shared it with his 4.25 million followers along with the caption: “I have a new hero.”
I have a new hero. https://t.co/rX3G5qW5JN
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) February 8, 2019
Taylor, who is in his mid-20s, shared a video at the end of January where he is seen deadlifting 190lbs and vowing to hit the 200lbs mark – which he clearly wasted little time in achieving.
He frequently shares posts of his weightlifting accomplishments, as well as inspirational messages for his followers.
He took up the sport just over a year ago, and has previously said: “I just want to prove to myself that I can do it, and to everyone else that I can do it.”
