SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Robert Carney was born with a form of gigantism that required 4 heart surgeries and multiple stomach surgeries as a baby. The diagnosis prevents him from participating in contact sports. He found another way to compete.
The Tombstone High School discus thrower won the Division 5 state title this spring and didn't lose a single discus competition along the way. He then qualified for the open state meet, where he finished 9th.
Carney picked up the discus his freshman year but didn't earn a varsity spot until his junior year. He said the drive to reach the top came from never having won before.
"I had never placed first at anything in any of the sports I had competed in the last few years, so I just really wanted to win," Carney said.
Without access to traditional training equipment, he built his own setup.
"I had two buckets that I would shove concrete blocks into, and then I had chains over the bar that I would lift with," Carney said.
Carney said his upbringing never felt like a reason to quit.
"Poverty and stuff can shackle people kind of down to this mentality where, oh, well, I'm poor, I'm this, I'm that, I'm not going to be able to do this, but that's just a mindset thing. You don't need the greatest state of the art equipment to be good at a sport or be athletic, you just have to have a mentality to compete," Carney said.
His brother, Dallas Mason, said Carney's motivation has never been about sympathy.
"He doesn't want to be a charity case. He doesn't want people to feel bad for him. He wants people to see how hard he works and how great he is," Mason said.
Carney's heart condition bars him from contact sports. Mason said the stakes of that restriction are serious.
"If his heart was hit, he could have partially died," Mason said.
Carney said his background never felt like a barrier.
"I really like that even though I don't come from the biggest or the most rich or the greatest area you can just compete and be the best with what you have," Carney said.
Now, Carney has his sights set on throwing in college while pursuing a sports medicine degree. He said he hopes to use what he's learned to help others.
"I think a little bit of extra guidance would have helped me a lot to develop even better. So, if I could even help one person, you know, just develop into a better athlete, or even a better person, honestly, would be amazing," Carney said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
----
——-
Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
