North Dakota Athlete of the Year Schulz wins silver medal at Special Olympics World Winter Games

Blaine Schulz, Jamestown, brought home a silver medal after competing in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea. Schulz’s journey to this milestone has been traveled over several years.

Schulz and another North Dakota athlete, Tommy Mikkelson, Grand Forks, were welcomed home last Friday at the Fargo airport by a cheering crowd. Among the crowd welcoming the heroes home were Blaine’s parents, Terry and Marna Schulz of Adrian. Terry and Marna, and Blaine’s sister, Wendi, were among Blaine’s fans following the team to South Korea.

The Special Olympics Winter World Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, was Schulz’s fifth World Games. Schulz earned the silver medal in the 200-meter snowshoe run with a time of 32.74 seconds. In the 400-meter snowshoe run, he took seventh with a time of 1:34.50. Blaine was also part of the 4×400-meter snowshoe relay team which took fourth with a time of 6:45.95.

Besides the awards he won in South Korea, Schulz also has another title. He was named the Special Olympics North Dakota Athlete of the Year.