TWO RIVERS — Manitowoc native Lucas Smith has too many gold medals from the Wisconsin Special Olympics to count, but a week ago he added his first at the 2026 USA Special Olympics Games in Minneapolis with his Team Wisconsin volleyball team.
"Just being able to go out there, put my heart on the line. Do everything I can for my team. It’s been wonderful," Smith said.
Smith, a 2021 graduate of Manitowoc Lincoln High School, has been participating in the Special Olympics since 2017.
"I have autism," Smith said. "I was diagnosed when I was in about first grade, and I have kind of an intellectual disability, a bit of motor functional problems, a bit of communication problems. I haven't let that stop me."
Special Olympics means everything to Smith, as it’s helped him break out of his comfort zone, make countless friends, and become a leader.
WATCH SMITH'S STORY HERE!
"One thing that a lot of my Special Olympics teammates and just a lot of people through my life have told me is if I have a disability, just be myself, you know what I mean? Even if that bothers other people, don't let it bother me and just let me be who I am," Smith said.
That leadership helped when his Team Wisconsin volleyball squad was down a set to Virginia in the USA Games gold medal match.
"One thing I remember going up to the huddle and saying is we're Team Wisconsin. We've been down before, but we're never out when we play out there," Smith said.
After winning the second set, they also trailed in the final one but rallied back to win the gold medal, thanks in part to a few key serves from Smith.
"After all of us got our medals on, just the cheers from the audience, and then we started a Wisconsin chant as we were leaving the, as we were leaving the award ceremony. It was a thing of dreams, man," said Smith, who now eyes competing in the 2030 USA games in Cleveland, Ohio.
Speaking of dreams, Smith says it would be a dream upon a dream if, one day, he could represent Team USA at the Special Olympics World Games.
"It would mean the world to me to be part of that," Smith said.
