NOWCAST KOCO 10:30pm-11pm Sunday Night
Live Now
Advertisement

Special Olympics gold medalist’s story inspires those around him

Nick Weldon has been powerlifting since his freshman year of high school.
Cecil Hannibal
Morning Anchor
Special Olympics gold medalist’s story inspires those around him

Nick Weldon has been powerlifting since his freshman year of high school.

STORY. >> SCHOOL’S OUT, BUT THE GRIND DOESN’T STOP. HIGH BROTHER AT NORTHWEST RANKIN HIGH SCHOOL, THIS EMPTY WEIGHT ROOM IS ONE STUDENT SANCTUARY. 18 YEAR OLD NICK WELDON IS GOING INTO HIS SENIOR YEAR PUMPING IRON AND PROVING HE HAS THE ABILITY TO DO ANYTHING HE SETS HIS MIND TO. DESPITE THE DISABILITY HE WAS BORN WITH. CAN YOU OUT BENCH DAD YET? >> YEAH, I CAN, AND MY WATER. >> I LIFT A LITTLE BIT, BUT NO, HE’S HE’S ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN THE FAMILY. SO YEAH. >> NICK WAS BORN WITH DOWN SYNDROME. HIS DAD, PATRICK WELDON, SAYS IT’S NEVER STOPPED HIM FROM TRYING NEW THINGS LIKE RUNNING AND RACES OR ROCK CLIMBING. BUT GOING INTO HIS FRESHMAN YEAR, HE ASKED TO JOIN THE SCHOOL’S POWERLIFTING TEAM. >> MY FIRST REACTION WAS, I MEAN, I WATCHED THEM LIKE A HAWK BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, I DIDN’T WANT TO GET HURT. >> BUT NICK WAS A NATURAL. >> AND THEN I’M SITTING THERE GOING, OH, OKAY. HE HE CAN DO IT. ALL RIGHT, LET ME STEP BACK FROM BENCH PRESSING. >> TO SQUATS AND DEADLIFTS. GET IT, GET IT, GET IT. >> YEAH. >> FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, HE’S COMPETED AS A SPECIAL GUEST LIFTER FOR THE TEAM. EVEN WITHOUT BEING IN THE OFFICIAL LINEUP. NICK ALWAYS WANTS TO SUPPORT HIS TEAMMATES TURNED BROTHERS. FIRST PLACE GOLD MEDAL. AND THIS PAST MONTH, NICK COMPETED IN THE MISSISSIPPI SPECIAL OLYMPICS IN BILOXI, TAKING HOME GOLD IN NEARLY EVERY WEIGHTLIFTING CATEGORY. NICK SHOW US GO AND 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 IS TAKEN CARE OF AND HAS EVERY OPPORTUNITY EVERYONE ELSE HAS. IT’S IT’S IT REALLY MAKES YOU THINK THESE KIDS HERE AT NORTHWEST ARE JUST TOP NOTCH. >> NICK’S COACHES SAY POWERLIFTING HAS GIVEN HIM A NEW LEVEL OF SWAGGER. >> LET’S HEAR IT FOR NICK WELDON. >> YOU CAN SEE IT IN HIS SIGNATURE POSES TO HIS INFECTIOUS JOY AS THE LIFE OF EVERY PARTY. NICK MAY HAVE LEARNED TO LIFT, BUT HIS STORY CAN SERVE AS A LESSON TO US ALL. >> THE ONLY LIMITATION YOU THAT THOSE KIDS HAVE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU PUT ON THEM ON THE SURFACE, LIFTING IS ABOUT BUILDING MUSCLE, BUT IN BETWEEN SETS, THE BONDS BUILT IN THIS WEIGHT ROOM WILL LAST FOREVER. >> IN RANKIN COUNT
Advertisement
Special Olympics gold medalist’s story inspires those around him

Nick Weldon has been powerlifting since his freshman year of high school.
Cecil Hannibal
Morning Anchor
At a high school just outside of Jackson, Mississippi, 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 can 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, 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.
FLOWOOD, Miss. —

At a high school just outside of Jackson, Mississippi, the empty weight room is one student’s sanctuary.

Advertisement

Nick Weldon, 18, who will be a senior next school year, is pumping iron and proving he can 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 weldon
WAPT

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, 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.