AFTER BEING RUNOVER BY A TRACTOR, STEVE ULCH COMPETED IN POWERLIFTING

“On August 17, 2012, I was runover by a tractor.”

Nope. You read that correctly. 

That’s not a typo.

Steve Ulch was, quite literally, run over by a tractor. But that’s not where his story ends.

On the contrary, it’s where it begins. 

“Years ago, I was a ranch manager and I still am an automotive technician,” Steve recalled. “We, my son and I, were using one tractor to jump start another. My son's foot slipped off the clutch and the left rear wheel caught my feet, threw me on my side, and walked up my legs until my son got it stopped directly over my hips.”

Steve told his son to back up, but when he did, the tires spun and tossed him about 15 feet away. Steve was taken by ambulance to the hospital, which became a second home of sorts for the next nine months. 

“I had two minor and two major surgeries,” Ulch said. “One with a wound vac covering a 13-inch incision on my fright leg and hip for over 80 days finally got me walking, but with a bad limp. It took me roughly three years to get back to the gym because the doctors said my legs couldn’t handle the strain.”

The docs had Steve on Percocet – five each day to be exact – until he got tired of planning his days around his pain medications. They told him he may never be able to run or lift again.

“In 2015, my wife and I moved for a new job and I decided to see if the doctors were correct,” he said. “It took four years of ripping scar tissue, sometimes daily, to get the flexion to perform a competition squat. But in 2017, I was able to compete in my first powerlifting meet, completely off medication.”

Powerlifting is Steve’s release. He has a stressful job and needs something to alleviate it. He eventually found that he could still pump heavy iron and, more importantly, that his body responded to it well. In fact, powerlifting is the reason he doesn’t limp anymore. 

“Everyone has their own story but if you are mentally strong and can take the pain and setbacks, anything is possible,” Steve said. “The human body is amazing; only a person's mind will stop them. Stay strong, positive and persevere!”

Remarkably, in 2019, Steve became the AWPC men's master2 140kg World Powerlifting Champion – all while representing APEMAN STRONG.