After making his return to his alma mater, SHG, to watch a 61-21 win over Decatur MacArthur Friday night, Ryan Held came back to the place where he took his first swim lesson – the YMCA. Mayor Jim Langfelder was there for a special announcement for Ryan and his family.
“Now therefore, I James O. Langfelder, Mayor of the city of Springfield, with the city council do here by proclaim that Saturday, September 3rd 2016 shall be Ryan Held day and the city of Springfield will call upon all citizens to formally recognize Ryan Held for all his accomplishments.”
Held was greeted by a thunderous ovation once he took to the podium. He would thank his parents first of all and also the YMCA. He then wanted to thank everyone who has supported him throughout the years.
“I just want to thank everyone for all of the texts, the messages, the tweets, the Instagram posts,” Held said. “Having you guys as motivation just pushes me to drive just a little bit more, to endure the pain just a little bit more. So you guys have vicariously won this gold medal through me. Thank you, thank you everyone.”