Special Olympics gold medalist’s story inspires those around him

By Cecil Hannibal

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    FLOWOOD, Mississippi (WAPT) — At Northwest Rankin High School, the empty weight room is one student’s sanctuary.

Nick Weldon, 18, who will be a senior next school year, is pumping iron and proving he has the ability to do anything he sets his mind to, despite the disability he was born with.

“He’s always been very strong — surprisingly strong,” Nick’s father, Patrick Weldon said.

So strong that Nick says he can out-bench his dad and his brother. Nick was born with Down syndrome, which his dad said has never stopped him from trying new things, like running in races or rock climbing. But, going into his freshman year, Nick asked to join the school’s powerlifting team.

“My first reaction was, I watched him like a hawk because I didn’t want him to get hurt,” powerlifting coach Philip Poole said.

But Nick was a natural.

“Then, I’m sitting there, going, ‘OK, he can do it. Let me step back,'” Poole said.

Nick has competed as a special guest lifter for the team in squats and deadlifts for the past three years. Even without being in the official lineup, Nick always shows up to support his teammates, turned brothers.

This past month, Nick competed in the Mississippi Special Olympics in Biloxi, taking home gold in nearly every weightlifting category. His friends and teammates were right there to welcome the champ home.

“When you see the way they huddle around him and absolutely protect him and go out of their way to make sure he’s taken care of and has every opportunity everyone else has, it really makes you think these kids at Northwest are just top-notch,” Nick’s dad said.

Poole said powerlifting has given Nick a new level of swagger that you can see in his signature poses and the infectious joy he has wherever he goes.

“The only limitation that those kids have are the ones that you put on them,” Patrick Weldon said.

On the surface, lifting is about building muscle, but in between sets, the bonds built in the weight room will last forever.

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