DARTMOUTH: When Payton Dicks stepped onto the powerlifting platform at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alta., she wasn’t just carrying the weight of the barbell.
She was carrying months of uncertainty and a lot of hard work that could easily have been derailed.
Instead, the Dartmouth-area athlete left Alberta with four gold medals.
Dicks, 16, was a standout for Team Nova Scotia at the Aug. 11-15 national summer games, winning gold in all four of her powerlifting events.
It was her first Special Olympics Canada national summer games in powerlifting, and a result she admits was a little hard to believe.
“It was crazy. It was a really good experience for me. It was my first nationals and I’m excited to bring home the gold,” Dicks said moments after arriving with Team N.S. at Hlaifax Stanfield Airport on Monday morning.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Overall, she won four medals — all gold.
The achievement is even more impressive considering what happened in the months leading up to the Games.
Dicks suddenly lost her coach a couple of months before the competition, leaving her scrambling to find someone who could help keep her preparation on track.
“Suddenly dropped off and wasn’t able to take us anymore,” Dicks said. “And I was scrambling for a coach.”
Help came in the form of Erik and Lauren, who stepped in to coach and help her prepare, along with Melissa, who also took on coaching duties.
Dicks credits that group, along with her family and supporters, for helping her stay focused when her path to Medicine Hat became anything but straightforward.
The coaching change wasn’t the only challenge surrounding her training, with her regular gym and trainer situation also changing in the lead-up to the Games.
But rather than let those setbacks derail her, Dicks kept working.
And when she finally got her opportunity on the platform in Medicine Hat, the preparation paid off.
“It’s like a big recognition piece,” Dicks said of hearing her name called to the top of the podium.
“It’s basically saying that I’ve made it and it’s great.”
ADVERTISEMENT:
For Dicks, powerlifting is one part of a busy sporting life.
She also competes in sprint kayaking with the Banook Canoe Club and has established herself as an accomplished paddler. Special Olympics Canada noted earlier this year that Dicks was already a two-time national defending champion in kayaking, with two records in the Special Olympics division.
Canoe Kayak Canada has also named Dicks to its 2026 ParaCanoe national team, representing Banook Canoe Club.
Powerlifting originally became part of her training as a way to get stronger for kayaking.
She and her family soon discovered she had a natural ability for the sport’s three major lifts – squat, bench press and deadlift.
That strength has translated into success on the powerlifting platform.
Dicks won gold in all three individual lifts while representing Canada at the 2025 World Open Women’s Special Olympics event in Chemnitz, Germany, setting new Special Olympics Nova Scotia records in the process.
Official results from that competition placed her first in the women’s -76 kg class with a 212.5-kilogram total.
Her progression continued this year. At the 2026 Nova Scotia Powerlifting Championships in May, Dicks recorded a 247.5-kilogram total in the women’s 76-kilogram class, including an 87.5-kilogram squat, 52.5-kilogram bench press and 107.5-kilogram deadlift.
ADVERTISEMENT:
But perhaps the most important lifts of her season came in Medicine Hat.
Four times, she lifted.
Four times, she stood atop the podium.
And four times, she had a chance to reflect on the people who helped her get there.
“I found Erik and Lauren, and they have been coaching me and helping me prepare for these games, and Melissa for hopping on and being able to be my coach,” Dicks said.
“That’s just amazing and I’m so grateful.”
The experience also gave her a message she hopes other athletes take from Nova Scotia’s performance in Alberta.
“We’re small, but we’re mighty,” Dicks said. “And all the medals we brought home were hard earned and we all fought for them.”
