Sioux City native will represent the USA in 2023 World Games

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - What if we told you that one of the most dominant athletes to come out of Sioux City in recent years hasn’t been doing their training in a typical gym like you might expect, but rather in a suburban neighborhood on the North side of the city.

Sioux City native Mitchell Betsworth is heading to Berlin, Germany to represent the United States as a powerlifter in the 2023 Special Olympics World Games. Betsworth was able to qualify for the World Games after a stellar performance in the USA Championships in 2022.

“I won four gold medals. I won the squat, bench, and deadlift; squat I got 300, bench 305, and deadlift was 435 pounds,” said Betsworth.

The 8-time gold medalist, and 10-time state champion has been training year-round for competitions. He’s even had the chance to meet up with his Team USA teammates in San Antonio, Texas for training before the games.

“We have nine powerlifters going; and many more athletes, 100 are going for Team USA,” said Betsworth. “We did our lifts over there with our practice weights for training.”

Before heading off to Germany, the Sioux City had planned to give Betsworth a send off party. But an illness in his family kept him at home, so the knights came to him with a parade around his cul-de-sac.

“There was probably 50 cars that drove up our cul-de-sac with signs, balloons, and honking their horns to cheer on Mitch. We have a closet full of billboards and signs,” said Betsworth’s father and coach, Troy Betsworth. “The Sioux City community has been wonderful supporting Mitch, the state of Iowa special olympics has been wonderful. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The 2023 World Games will kick off June 17th with live coverage on ESPN streaming services.

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