When N.C. State swimmer Ryan Held returned from Rio de Janeiro after winning a gold medal in the August 2016 Olympics, he was treated like a rock star.
For two weeks, he said.
Held swam the third leg of the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay as part of the U.S. team that included Nathan Adrian, Caeleb Dressel and 23-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps.
Standing with his teammates on top of the Olympic podium, gold medal around his neck, Held broke down in tears as the Star-Spangled Banner played, and the American flag was raised.