Second installment in the SONC “Carrying North Carolina With Me” series
“Carrying North Carolina With Me” celebrates the deep pride our Special Olympics athletes feel as they represent North Carolina on the national stage. It reflects the countless hours of training, the commitment shown in their local programs and the determination that has brought them to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games. This series will follow athletes whose journeys embody the spirit of North Carolina—showing how their connection to home fuels them in competition and how our programming supports them every step of the way, both on and off the field.
On most afternoons in Raleigh, you’ll find Rio Byrd in her favorite rhythm: pencil, pause, line; chalk, breath, lift. She is part illustrator, part powerlifter, equally at home sketching an original character on her phone as she is settling under a bar for a heavy squat. Ask her which part defines her and she shrugs, unapologetic for not choosing. Rio isn’t interested in either/or.
What she is interested in is following through. That simple commitment has carried Rio from local practices to the honor of representing Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games this June in Minneapolis.
Rio moved to North Carolina so early that her memories of California feel like unfinished sketches.
“I barely have any memory of living in California,” she says. “I’ve basically been here my whole life.”
Raleigh is where she found both of her worlds: the gym and the arts, strength and imagination. It’s where she first put on a Special Olympics uniform, where she learned speed skating and eventually discovered powerlifting, a sport she’s now been dedicated to for nearly six years. Along the way, she’s been supported by coaches, who taught her proper technique in both sports and encouraged her to trust her abilities. And at home, her dad often trains with her too, another thread in the community that has shaped her into the athlete she is today.
“Rio soaks up every bit of feedback and adjusts. She always gives 100 percent,” said Rio’s longtime coach Tammie Tucker, a Special Olympics Wake County roller skating and powerlifting coach. “And she certainly does not shy away from new challenges and experiences. I cannot wait to see her represent North Carolina at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games!”
Training isn’t always easy. Some days the weights feel heavier, or the squats strain her neck. But representing North Carolina means showing up anyway. It means honoring the people who believe in her. Her coaches, teammates, parents and a state cheering her forward.
There’s a calm clarity to the way Rio approaches competition. While many athletes visualize crowds or medals, Rio focuses only on the lift.
“Once I lift, I don’t really think about anything else,” she says. “I just think about finishing the lift, and that’s it.”
That determination isn’t just personal; it’s how she honors the place she comes from. For Rio, carrying North Carolina with her means doing the work, trusting herself and finishing what she starts.
Rio brings a powerful presence to a sport where women are still carving out space. She notices when she’s one of the only girls in the room, but she approaches it with calm confidence.
“It’s okay,” she says, matter-of-factly. “I just focus on what I’m doing.”
She laughs remembering school days when teachers only asked the boys to carry chairs.
“I was one of those girls who carried them anyway,” she says.
Today, she hopes other girls will see the strength in themselves too.
“Ladies, you have a lot of muscle in you,” she says. “You might as well use it.”
When Rio steps onto the platform in Minneapolis, she’ll be carrying more than weight. She’ll be carrying the encouragement of her coaches, her family’s belief in her, her community, her creativity and the pride of a state that helped shape her.
“Thank you for your support on my journey,” she says. “I will be doing my best to represent this state.”
Strength and imagination aren’t opposites in Rio’s world; they’re two ways of showing who she is. And this summer, both will travel with her as she carries North Carolina into every lift.
