{"id":23301,"date":"2026-06-26T16:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301"},"modified":"2026-06-26T16:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:41:00","slug":"nc-special-olympics-athlete-rio-byrd-wins-4-gold-medals-at-usa-games-in-minneapolis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301","title":{"rendered":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">RALEIGH, N.C.  (WTVD) &#8212; <\/span>As the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games wrap up in Minneapolis, athletes from Special Olympics North Carolina are returning home with medals, memories and stories of perseverance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Among the standout performers is Wake County athlete Rio Byrd, who captured four gold medals in powerlifting. The 22-year-old competed in the bench press, deadlift, squat and combination events, setting two personal records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Byrd, who trains three times a week, said she was surprised by her success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I was a little nervous at first,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But once the powerlifting competition was over, I felt really good.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Her medals were among <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SpecialOlympicsNC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Team North Carolina&#8217;s<\/a> first of the Games. She was one of 36 athletes and seven unified partners representing the state in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Special Olympics is the world&#8217;s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competition for more than five million athletes worldwide. Byrd said the organization helps athletes discover their strengths and overcome challenges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">North Carolina&#8217;s success extended beyond powerlifting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Durham County cheer team earned gold in the Unified Small Team Level 1 division, featuring athletes with and without intellectual disabilities competing together. The team made history as the first cheer squad from Special Olympics North Carolina to attend a USA Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">As the Games come to a close, Byrd said she&#8217;s excited to return home and hopes her success inspires others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Byrd&#8217;s advice:<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">&#8220;Just go for it. You might surprise yourself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/post\/nc-special-olympics-athlete-rio-byrd-wins-4-gold-medals-usa-games-minneapolis\/19373591\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) &#8212; As the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games wrap up in Minneapolis, athletes from Special Olympics North Carolina are returning home with medals, memories and stories of perseverance. Among the standout performers is Wake County athlete Rio Byrd, who captured four gold medals in powerlifting. The 22-year-old competed in the bench press, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":939,"featured_media":23302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) &#8212; As the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games wrap up in Minneapolis, athletes from Special Olympics North Carolina are returning home with medals, memories and stories of perseverance. Among the standout performers is Wake County athlete Rio Byrd, who captured four gold medals in powerlifting. The 22-year-old competed in the bench press, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9\"},\"headline\":\"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301\"},\"wordCount\":266,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Powerlifting News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301\",\"name\":\"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=23301#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Bodybuilding News\",\"description\":\"Data, Rankings, Results.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9\",\"name\":\"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?author=939\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News","og_description":"RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) &#8212; As the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games wrap up in Minneapolis, athletes from Special Olympics North Carolina are returning home with medals, memories and stories of perseverance. Among the standout performers is Wake County athlete Rio Byrd, who captured four gold medals in powerlifting. The 22-year-old competed in the bench press, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301","og_site_name":"World Bodybuilding News","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00","author":"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301"},"author":{"name":"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9"},"headline":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis","datePublished":"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301"},"wordCount":266,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg","articleSection":["Powerlifting News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301","name":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis - World Bodybuilding News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-26T16:41:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19388768_special-olympics-tn-img.jpg","width":1600,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=23301#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NC Special Olympics athlete Rio Byrd wins 4 gold medals at USA Games in Minneapolis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/","name":"World Bodybuilding News","description":"Data, Rankings, Results.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5eb422fe877ab87ad55114176b7f23f9","name":"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","caption":"ABC11 Raleigh-Durham"},"url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?author=939"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}