This just goes to show that not all superheroes wear capes.
A Filipino Special Olympian was featured on popular Facebook page Humans of New York (HONY) yesterday, in a post that has inspired netizens all around the globe.
The Pinoy featured is 20-year-old powerlifter Eduardo Enrique Estampador Munarriz who will compete in the ongoing 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest humanitarian sporting event and a global movement focusing on the empowerment of “People of Determination with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport.”
In the Facebook post, Munarriz was quoted saying: “I have twenty superheroes that I keep in a folder on my phone and I take it out to look at them, and I pretend that I am the leader of an entire superhero team.
The whole team is counting on me to get as strong as possible because I am the muscle of the team. Being the biggest is like a way to take charge. It doesn’t even matter if I have super powers because I can use my own true strength, and the barbell is like a type of weapon.
It’s important as a leader to always listen to your team. Our whole team decided together that friendship is more important than winning. Nobody will be mad at me if I lose. They don’t care if I bring home a medal. My family and my friends and Coach John and everyone in the Philippines will be proud of me even just for lifting weights.”
Coconuts Manila reached out to Munarriz’s mother Cristina Estampador who said via a Facebook message that she saw HONY’s post close to midnight.
“[I was] crying buckets until morning reading all the wonderful comments people had about him. I ran out of tissues in my hotel room,” she said.
“The HONY experience helps me feel even more hopeful for people like my sons,” she told Coconuts. “It also makes me confident that they will do something really important and wonderful for others.”
Munarriz is one of three Filipino powerlifters participating in the Special Olympics. The other two participating are Joanna Aquino Yabes and Marlon Tindoc. Tindoc has already won a bronze medal in the squat competition. Meanwhile, Munarriz and Yabes will compete tomorrow.
HONY’s post has over 76,000 likes, 1,200 comments, and 2,600 shares as of this article’s posting. Netizens were moved by Munarriz’s words.
His mother commented on the post and said: “I am very proud of you, my son.”
Sam Hunt said: “I wonder how he’ll feel when he finds out someone saved his picture to their phone for motivation.”
Try not to cry.
Pardeep V. Basi said: “Damn right we are [proud of you]. -Entire Philippines 🇵🇭”
Casey Braun said: “I’m creating a superhero folder right now. You are going to be my first person in the folder.”
Rima Ahmed also said she’ll be starting her superhero folder too.
“Best motivational advice ever! Starting my superhero folder as we speak, and you’re at the top my dude!”
Anne Ingrassia Federwisch said: “‘Our whole team decided together that friendship is more important than winning.’ If only more people realized this!”
Nicola Ø Gelmi added: “Sometimes I take a peek at this page just to remember that human being do not always suck. Thanks a lot for your efforts!”
Stacey Popiel Erickson said: “You’re an EXCELLENT leader. Thank you for inspiring me to be my own superhero today. Best of luck in the games, too!”
How’d you feel when you saw this? Leave a comment below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
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