Eagle River Special Olympian wins gold in Berlin

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An Eagle River Special Olympian took home a gold medal, along with multiple silver medals, at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, according to a news release from Special Olympics Alaska.

Bobby Hill secured the gold medal in the bench press by lifting 70 kilograms. In addition to that, he won silver medals in the squat, deadlift and combination events, lifting 107.5 kilograms, 112.5 kilograms and 290 kilograms, respectively.

In addition to Hill, another Alaska Special Olympian had a strong finish in Germany.

Gretchen Winter, of Palmer, finished in fourth place in the 1,500-meter final with a time of 6:05.65.

“Bobby and Gretchen have represented Alaska and the United States with pride. Watching Gretchen fight through an injury, never giving up, was incredibly inspiring. And Bobby rose to the occasion, lifting more than his bodyweight in all 3 of his lifts! They both demonstrated phenomenal sportsmanship and showed what it looks like to be a true champion,” Special Olympics Alaska Interim CEO Sarah Arts said in the release.

The Special Olympics World Summer Games are taking place in Berlin from June 16 through June 25.

Winter will compete in the 4x10 relay on Saturday, which will be broadcast on ESPN3 and ESPN+.

Hill will be returning to Alaska next week, while Winter plans to stay in Germany for an extra week with her family.

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