August 11, 2025, 2pm MDT
Nick Hansen, a determined athlete with Down syndrome, stepped onto the platform and quickly exchanged smiles with his father, Rob Hansen, grabbed the bar with both hands and covered it under his weight. With a deep breath, Hansen leaned over and ran upwards, successfully squatting 205 pounds in the Junior Lightweight Division state record at the Colorado 2025 Special Olympics Colorado 205 pounds.
A few weeks later, Nick Hansen achieved another milestone in a setting far from the squat rack. On June 29th he received the priesthood of Melchizedek and was appointed elder in the Crystal Valley Ward.
These achievements are among the many for Hansen. The 21-year-old holds a black belt in Taekwondo and is preparing to begin his first year at Regis University in Denver, Colorado.
Rob Hansen described his son as a typical young man who dates friends, plays video games, spends time with his girlfriend, and builds bonds with his nephews. His mother, Babette Hansen, said Nick is determined to pursue his goals, regardless of his disability. “He has great self-worth,” she said. “He doesn’t recognize the obstacles. He doesn’t accept it. It doesn’t define him.”
From class to competition
Nick Hansen’s interest in powerlifting peaked in the high school freshman year. Classes were offered only every other day, so Hansen’s temperament depended on whether he had weight training every morning.
“He took it right away and was excited about it,” Rob Hansen said. “That was his favorite class.”
Nick Hansen’s coach Jeremy Doll was part of a program that Special Olympics sponsored at local schools – give him a try on powerlifting. After exploring several options and considering their son’s needs, Rob and Babette Hansen decide to have Doll train in Denver.
Rob Hansen explained that his son, like other children, initially did not understand something very new. As a young athlete who has just begun powerlifting, I have learned a lot, from developing the right lifting form to applying safe lifting techniques to preventing injuries.
For Hansen, learning how to do PowerLift was very similar to learning taekwondo. It’s unique and challenging. While difficulties have arisen throughout the learning process, consistent practice has become more accessible and Taekwondo has become a “second nature” for him, Rob Hansen said.
“If you don’t have the strength to do it, you have to do it anyway. I’ll push as hard as I can,” Hansen said.
Inspired by the example
As her son approached her eighth birthday, Rob and Babette Hansen turned to the church handbook for guidance. After thoughtful prayers and discussions surrounding the complexities of his son’s baptism, they did not feel the strong urgency to invite him to be baptized.
Like the other children, Hansen took his son to the baptism of his classmates and spoke with him about the ordinance, but he showed no interest in being baptized.
A year later, that changed. Hansen began to express his desire to be baptized, and at the age of nine he was.
Receiving the ordinance and meeting friends and family who also participated in the ordinance became Hansen’s catalyst. Watching his brother pass the sacrament on Sunday and departing for missions, he deepened his understanding of the gospel and increased his desire to continue his own spiritual path.
“He wanted to serve, he wanted to give blessings. He wanted to be like his brother, his brother-in-law, and his father.
In preparation for receiving the priesthood, Hansen was given a form by his bishop that included Scriptures and questions to answer about the priesthood. Because her son has similar levels of understanding as his first or second grade son, Rob Hansen has found creative ways to help Nick understand.
Rob Hansen read one of the questions: “What does it mean to expand the priesthood and your calling?” Considering the analogy that his son could grasp, he mentioned the glasses Nick wears to help him read. “What does glasses do to words?” he asked.
“They make them a little bigger and more clear,” replied Nick Hansen.
“It’s exactly expanding your calling,” explained Rob Hansen.
The day after he competed in the Special Olympics, he competed in the Stake Priesthood Conference to receive the priesthood.
Three weeks later, Hansen was appointed Elder of Eden, Utah.
Ordained to serve
While boating in Utah this summer, Nick Hansen and his father were tubed together when Rob Hansen suffered a severe shock and injured his back. Nick Hansen exercised priesthood power and administered his first blessing to his father.
“It was pretty impressive,” recalls Babette Hansen. “My husband helped him say the words and Nick was able to leave a very sincere and sincere prayer on behalf of his father.”
Nick’s sister, Courtney Hansen, emphasized his ability to defend respectful love for others through the priesthood, sharing that he often advises his father on what it means.
“He takes it very seriously, and it’s very special to him,” she said.
Hansen shared what the priesthood means to him and the personal relationship he feels as God.
