Ramon (Ray) Gary Epstein, (born 14 October 1959) is an Australian Paralympic weightlifter and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

coach. He represented Australia in weightlifting at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Paralympics and was Head Coach of the Australian Paralympic powerlifting team between 2003 and 2013.

Personal

Epstein was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. He became a paraplegic in 1972 following a gym accident. He became a member of the

Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association was the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland. In January 2024, all the staff, assets and liabi ...

in 1977 and competed in a number of sports including

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

and athletics before focusing on weightlifting. He was admitted as a Chartered Accountant in 1985 and joined the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association as Administration and Finance Manager in 1990. He was the chief executive officer of the Association from 1998 to December 2016, and was appointed to the Board of the

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

in 2008. In 2002, his wife Vicki wrote the book ''Step by step we conquer : the story of Queensland's Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association''.

Sporting career

Ramon_Epstein_lifting_at_the_1992_Paralympic_Games

Epstein competed in state, national and international weightlifting/powerlifting (

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

) competitions for athletes with a disability from 1979 to 1995. He took a break from competition in 1983–84 to pursue a professional qualification in accounting. He represented Australia at 12 international competitions, including the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games and 1992 Barcelona Games, where he was male Captain of the Australian Team. His career highlights included silver medals at the World Wheelchair Weightlifting Championships in 1990 ( Saint-Etienne, France) and 1991 (

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, United States), and gold medals and world records in the 56 kg division at the 1993 World Cup in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England and the 1994 World Wheelchair Weightlifting Championships (Melbourne). During his career, he held Australian records in five separate body weight categories from 48 kg to 67.5 kg bodyweight divisions. He was a scholarship holder under the elite athlete programs of the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(1992 and 1995) and the Queensland Academy of Sport (1992–1995). Following his retirement in 1995, he became an accredited

IPC IPC may refer to: Businesses and organizations Arts and media * Intellectual Property Committee, a coalition of US corporations with intellectual property interests * International Panorama Council, an international network of specialists in ...

Powerlifting Referee.

Coaching career

Epstein started coaching towards the end of his lifting career due to a shortage of powerlifting coaching staff in Australia at that time. He was appointed Assistant National Coach Powerlifting in 1999 and became National Head Coach Powerlifting in 2003. He was Assistant Coach of the powerlifting team at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and Head Coach for the

2004 Athens The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, 2008 Beijing, and

2012 London The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Paralympic Games. Notable powerlifters coached by Epstein include dual Paralympic silver medalist Darren Gardiner,

Abebe Fekadu Abebe Fekadu (born 20 April 1970) is an Ethiopian Australian powerlifter. He competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, where he finished tenth. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in powerlifting. He did not me ...

, and pioneering female lifters Julie Russell and Deahnne McIntyre. He announced his retirement as Australian Paralympic Powerlifting head coach in July 2013.

Recognition

Epstein was awarded a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(OAM) in the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to people with a disability and the sport of weightlifting, and received an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

in 2000. He was named the Coach of the Year by the

in 1998, 2004, and 2006. He won the Inspiring Individual Award at the 2014 Queensland Disability Awards. At the 2016 Queensland Sport Awards, he was awarded a Service to Sport Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Ray Paralympic weightlifters for Australia Weightlifters at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Weightlifters from Brisbane Paralympic coaches for Australia Australian Institute of Sport Athletes with a Disability alumni Coaches at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2012 Summer Paralympics 1959 births Living people 20th-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen