Trevor Golden gets his gold at the USA Special Olympics

Aug. 09--Trevor Golden said naming only one special experience during his time competing at USA'sSpecial Olympics was too difficult.

"I loved everything," Trevor Golden said. "There was just to much to choose from."

One thing he remembers vividly is the opening ceremonies.

"All of it was really cool," Trevor Golden said.

"Opening ceremonies was their big thing. They light an eternal flame and have several performances by famous singers," said Cassie Golden, Trevor's older sister.

Trevor Golden was the only athlete from McPherson to make the trip to Seattle in July. He competed in bowling.

"I was first in my division out of 6 for doubles. I was sixth in singles and competed against 6 other teams. And then for the team competition we placed second out of 6 in our division," Trevor Golden said.

Trevor Golden said he was much taller than the person giving out medals when he received his.

"I literally had to crouch," he said. "We went to a baseball field and they announced our division and we got to walk up on stage and they put our medals around our necks," Trevor Golden said.

As family and friends watched from the sidelines, and from Facebook Live thanks to his sister, they all cheered him on.

"Everyone was very supportive, my friends, staff members they were all rooting for me. I have to thank my sister here because she was Facebook Living it for everyone to see back home," Trevor Golden said with a smile on his face.

"I was very proud of him. There's really no words to describe it. I'm glad he got that opportunity to go and that the rest of our family could go and watch him, they were also very proud of him," Cassie Golden said.

Attending the Olympics has earned Trevor Golden many new friends along with his medals. He says he still stays in contact with through Facebook.

"I met a whole bunch of people. I met one friend from Connecticut. My other friend I met... we're bowling buddies now," Trevor Golden said.

Golden stayed on college campus and had his first-ever plane ride.

"We stayed on the Washington State campus dorms, that was really cool," Golden said.

Golden has been bowling with his older sister since he was 8 and she was 9-years-old.

"I learned to bowl from her (Cassie)," he said as he pointed to his sister.

"We both started youth league together and we've been bowling ever since," Cassie Golden said.

Trevor said he focuses on bowling, but also plays basketball in his spare time.

"They're my favorite sports and I'm competitive in both," he said.

Golden said he has a piece of advice for others wanting to learn the sport.

"Take deep breaths. If you rush, you're not going to knock down as many pins. But if you take your time with deep breaths, you'll get more (pins) to fall down," Golden said.

"Keep trying and keep practicing. The more you practice the better you will get," he said.

When he is not bowling or playing basketball he works at New Beginnings and the Clayworks in McPherson.

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