Amalia Perez seems to get stronger every day. At the age of 40, the Mexican is one of the leading names in powerlifting, having won medals at the last four Paralympic games. She plans to continue this trend at the Rio 2016 Games, where she says she will have the advantage of “competing at home”.

“I have always represented Mexico on other continents so I’m very excited to compete in Brazil, which is like a home for us Latinos,” said Perez. “The country is opening its doors and I’m sure the Brazilians will cheer for all Latinos. I’m working hard, giving my heart and soul to reach the podium and give something back to all everyone who supports me.”

Perez, who is married to her coach Enrique Alvarado, won a gold medal at the Rio 2007 Parapan American Games. “I was ecstatic,” she recalled. “It was the first time in my life that I was with other sports delegations in a contest in the Americas. I enjoyed the Games, the country and being with the other athletes.”

Perez’s Paralympic debut was at the Sydney 2000 Games, aged 27, when she won the silver in the -52kg class. Four years later in Athens, she won silver in the -48kg category. At Beijing 2008, she returned to the -52kg class and won gold with a new Paralympic record of 127.5 kg (see the video below).

At London 2008, aged 39, Perez competed in the -60 kg category and again won gold with a new record, lifting 135kg. The Mexican is also a two-times world champion in the -52kg class (1998 and 2006) and holds the Pan-American record in four categories: -48kg, -52kg, -56kg and -60kg.

“I fall in love with the sport again and again, because it shows what we can do with our body and that even with a limitation, you can reach your potential, if you are dedicated,” she said. “It’s like a religion to me. It’s a formula that makes me happy and, at 40, I feel responsible for showing it to people and making them realise that if I can, they can too.”

At the London 2012 Games, Perez broke the -60kg Paralympic record (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney)

Perez has had to overcome a ruptured tendon in her left shoulder that she suffered before the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She competed in pain until undergoing surgery in February 2013. Perez resumed training the following September and two months later qualified for the 2014 world championships, where she won the silver medal despite not being in top physical condition.

“I asked myself several times if I could be back in competition at a high level,” she said. “I went well at the world championships and now I feel I'm able to prepare well for the 2016 Games.”

The Rio 2016 Games may be Perez’s last competition, but she seems certain to remian involved with sport. “I will see how I perform in Rio and then evaluate how my body reacts. If it’s too big a sacrifice and if I feel I’m tired, I will know that the time has come to stop. I’m well aware and quite honest about my body and I will not punish it to stay in competition. It’s important for our dignity as an athlete to able to say goodbye to the glory, because we cannot live in the past. When I stop competing, I will continue exercising and I intend, in some way, to stay in contact with sport to repay all that it has given me over the years.”