Cody Colchado
Inducted 2016
Hometown: Kingsville
High School: Foothills High School, Bakersfield, Calif.
Best Known for: Athlete – Powerlifting
b. June 14, 1963
Colchado was born hard of hearing in Kingsville but was not diagnosed until he was in the second grade. He was raised in Bakersfield, California where he sustained a football injury in high school in 1980 which cost him his eyesight.
He moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 1997 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas-Pan American in 2002 and a Master of Education degree in Kinesiology there in 2005.
As a lifetime member of the United States Association of Blind Athletes, Cody is a three-time national champion in track and field, and a 31-time world champion in Powerlifting for the able body and disabled division. He also holds 21 world records in the squat, bench press, deadlift and total for IBSA, IBPP, WABDL, WPA, and USAPL and has earned 12 best lifter awards. In 2012, he was inducted into the World Association Benchers and Deadlifters Hall of Fame. He has represented the U.S. eight times as part of Team USA for the United States Association of Blind Athletes. in 2015, he became the first American to become the Strongman for Disabled Champion at the World Championships in Iceland.
Cody has the courage to move on despite the unfortunate circumstances. He cannot hear the applause nor see the weight he's lifting. He is also an embodiment of humanity. “When I lift weights, I visualize all the people with disabilities who I've met over the years. I hear their voices and they lift the bar with me.”