Justin Hinds received a welcome home fit for royalty on Sunday, as friends and family lined Main Street in Bowbells to celebrate his achievements in the Special Olympics.
“I was pretty shocked I wasn’t expecting that,” Justin said.
“Did have some leaking eyes and allergies were kicking in but it was neat to see,” Jerome Hinds, Justin’s dad, said.
Justin competed in deadlift, bench press, and a combination event winning gold in all three.
“Nervous, it was fun. I had a blast. First time competing. It was shocking,” Justin said.
“He met his personal record on the last lift and he hugged his coach right away and just before going behind the screen he gave dad a quick look, and so we knew he was excited and happy,” Monica Hinds, Justin’s mom, said.
His parents said they knew Justin was putting up good numbers with his lifts, but they couldn’t see the leader board so they didn’t know where he was in the standings.
“In a way, we kind of sat in the dark. We were getting text messages from people at home and they were saying he won three golds and we were like, ‘No don’t tell anybody we don’t think he did.’ We weren’t sure about the first one, and pretty soon yep they were right,” Jerome said.
“Overwhelming pride and tears and the phone calls from home and the adrenaline we sat there and had the same but maybe not quit the same amount but a lot of the adrenaline that Justin was feeling,” Monica said.
Justin was one of 30 athletes that represented North Dakota down in Orlando and more than 5,500 total athletes from all over the country.