Dover’s Jacob Constas approached his lifts like any other competition. Deep breaths and focus. All he wanted was to beat himself and bring something home.
Constas, along with fellow New Hampshire competitors Darren Brown and Brett Clough, made the state proud with big performances at the Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis two weeks ago.
Constas, a powerlifter, took home three silver medals and one bronze medal. His silvers were in the deadlift (402 pounds), squat (281 pounds) and bench (215 pounds). In the combination, which encompasses the three aforementioned lifts, he placed third with 407.5 pounds.
“It felt like the first three competitions that I had done beforehand. It didn’t feel any different. I told myself that I’d been there before, and I done competitions like this before,” he said.
It was an anxious wait. He arrived in Minnesota five days before he had to compete. He adjusted adequately to the time difference but could not wait to get out and lift heavy.
Clough took home a few gold medals competing for New Hampshire as well. Constas and Clough trained together out of Amoskeag Fitness in Concord once a month in preparation for the USA Games with Team N.H. trainer Sharon Palermo.
(L to R) Jacob Constas, Sharon Palermo and Brett Clough stand proudly with medals after the Special Olympics USA Games powerlifting competitions. Credit: Courtesy of Stacie Constas 
Brett Clough (L) of Quechee, Vt. and Jacob Constas of Dover, NH are headed to Minnesota for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games for powerlifting. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Clough, a Quechee, Vt., native, won three gold medals in squat, deadlift and combination. He also took bronze in the bench press. He doubted his own abilities after breaking his ankle just a few months out from competition.
“I had to be happy for him,” Constas said of his teammate’s performance. “For him to come back and him even telling me that he wasn’t expecting to do good, and he does good, told me that, ‘OK, you doubted yourself, and you actually did good.’ “
It was a spectacle with an ESPN crew, a large crowd and dozens of competitors. Stacie Constas, Jacob’s mother, was impressed by the scale. Most of all, she was glad her son reached his goals with his performance.
It felt like any other big sports event and she was glad to see how inclusive, diverse and fairly treated the athletes were.
Brown, a bowler from Gilford, finished with a bronze medal in the men’s singles and a gold medal in mixed team bowling alongside Nicklas Paquin, Aamanda King and Bryanna Allison from Team New Hampshire. Starting his tournament off with a bronze on seven straight strikes set him up for success.
Allenstown’s Nathaniel Webb brought home a bronze in the male doubles bocce and a silver in the team event.
In total, Team New Hampshire brought home 12 gold medals, 11 silver and eight bronze.