With medals around their necks and beaming smiles on their faces, Costa Rica's 60 young special athletes were welcomed back home Sunday night after their victorious competition last week in the Special Olympics in Shanghai, China.

These young people won 67 medals in various sports. After a long trip home made longer by inclement weather, they got back to Costa Rica at midnight Sunday. A large gathering of supporters holding signs and balloons gathered at Juan Santamaría International Airport, northwest of San José, to cheer for them as they walked out.

President Oscar Arias yesterday invited them to his house in Rohrmoser, west of San José, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

“I never had any doubt that you would win many medals and competitions in China. Every time I saw the news of how well you were doing there, I thought of all the difficulties you have encountered in your lives that allowed you to be the fastest, strongest, bravest in the Olympics,” he told them.

“Every time I feel tired, every time I feel like giving up, I'm going to think of you, my friends... the special athletes, and I'm never going to give in,” he said.

-Tico Times