'Hercules' heads for Games

Awed coach says he has rare gifts

DURHAM -- People notice Brian Carter when he works out.

A solid hulk of muscle, he put a barbell on his shoulders Thursday and lowered his body.

"Pop down and fire up," said his coach, Dick Landerman, as Carter, 22, completed squat repetitions at the downtown Durham YMCA.

The weight -- 135 pounds -- was a fraction of what he can do. Carter, who weighs 209 pounds, easily squats weights topping 400 pounds.

But Landerman didn't want to overwork him before the weekend, when Carter will compete as a powerlifter in the 2007 Special Olympics North Carolina Summer Games. He also is one of 12 athletes in North Carolina selected to represent Team USA in October at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China.

"We call him Hercules," his mother, Martha Carter, said.

Those who work with Carter say that he has a rare combination of determination and genetics that makes him a powerhouse. Carter would be competitive at state and regional powerlifting events, said Scott Siegel, a former world champion in weight lifting and owner of The Hall of Fitness, a Durham gym where Carter regularly works out.

"This guy is good," Siegel said. "Brian is a hardworking guy. When he comes in he's real focused and he really pushes himself. He doesn't complain."

"It makes me feel like a better person," said Carter, who is usually quiet and reserved, except for a broad grin that shows up when he gets comfortable with people.

In powerlifting, athletes must bench press, squat and deadlift increasing weights. Siegel said he's seen Carter deadlift -- pick up a barbell from the floor and straighten into a full standing position -- in the mid 500-pound range. His bench-press, Landerman said, maxes out somewhere in the 350-pound range.

"Anytime you break that 500-pound barrier, you're not messing around and you're not just a gym lifter. There's something special there," Siegel said.

Landerman has been working with Carter for four or five years.

"Other guys are coming up to me and want to work with me because they think it's me. Actually it's him," Landerman said.

Carter has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and some mild retardation, Martha Carter said. In New York City, she took him in as a foster child and adopted him when he was 4 or 5 years old, she said. When Brian was 10, she moved to Durham because she wanted him to have more opportunities.

He is a graduate of Northern High School, where he played on the football team.

His competitive nature is something his mother said he picked up from home where she and her two daughters pushed themselves and each other to do better. He currently lives in one of the two group homes that his mother runs.

Landerman said that Carter has lifting goals and life goals. In life, he wants to find a job and eventually get his own place.

But for now, he is focused on the competition ahead. He says he expects to do very well this weekend.

"I guess when you have a great coach ..." Landerman started.

Carter waved his hand and walked away, dismissing his ham of a coach. Then Carter got serious.

"I'm going to do very good," he said.