Apr. 18—Don Heflin has played myriad sports over the years, such as basketball, hockey, track and field and football, but the one he has participated in the longest and enjoys the most is the Native Youth Olympics.While the rest are mostly team sports, the 16-year-old sophomore at Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School has experienced a unique level of connection and positivity with NYO."I really found my love for NYO with the community," Heflin said. "That was one thing that really drew me in. It was hard to find the support in other sports and the positivity that these games have."He has been competing in the games for a decade, starting in Junior NYO in the first grade.As a proud Inupiaq, he also loves how the games help not only preserve his culture but also make him feel even closer to it."It's coming from our people, so it makes me proud to compete here," Heflin said.

"Half of the time, you're not really competing."The 2026 senior games started Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center and wrap up with closing ceremonies Saturday night.While the winners and top five finishers in the NYO senior games are recognized and celebrated in front of the crowd, Heflin believes that they still shouldn't be treated like a track and field meet, where the primary goal may be to go for gold."A lot of people lose the spirit of these games over time when they keep going," Heflin said. "That's not really the point of these games. These are to have fun and test yourself."On the first day of the games, Heflin claimed a couple of second-place finishes.

In the toe kick, his mark of 88 inches tied for the best, but his nine misses were just one more than first-place finisher Samuel Arey of the North Slope Borough School District, who had eight misses. Heflin came second place in the Alaskan High Kick as well after topping out at 86 inches while his fellow Anchorage Team member, Jayden Andrew-Parrett, won the event with a mark of 92 inches.Heflin's favorite event is the two-foot high kick, which was the third and final event on the second day of action. He finished in second place with a mark of 94 inches."It doesn't take as much off your body like one-foot (high kick) or scissor broad jump, that's a lot of force on my knees," Heflin said.

"I've been doing (NYO) for so long that certain events are just more difficult to do over time."He also enjoys participating in the one-arm reach event because of how calm it makes him feel and how it's less physically demanding.As a freshman in the games last year, he came in fifth in the Alaskan high kick, second in the two-foot high kick and tied for third in the one-foot high kick.Heflin spends about two hours a day practicing and honing the necessary skills to excel at the games. A lot of his training takes place in his garage, where he can set up the equipment and adjust the height of the seal-skin ball that is suspended in the air.He also works on his overall strength in the weight room and both his forearm and grip strength by climbing at the Alaska Rock Gym."It's just like (in) the real world, you're not going to get stronger and buffer just by playing the games when you can go out hunting and actually do something in real life and be more physical," Heflin said.Broadened horizons are worth more than goldHeflin was part of a large contingent of Alaska student-athletes who starred at the 2026 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, in March.He finished first in the Alaskan high kick and two-foot high kick and tied the world records for the U17 age group on both events as well.

Heflin also won gold in the one-foot high kick."I was really proud that I tied the records but I wish I did break them," he said.Taking part in those games was one of the most enjoyable experiences of his life, and not just because he had a sensational outing by racking up gold medals and making history."That wasn't really the highlight of my trip," Heflin said. "I was really happy to meet other Inuit people across the Arctic Circle and hear about their experiences and hear about the words they say, hear how they say different words in almost the same language."Getting to learn and embrace other Indigenous cultures was his favorite aspect of the Arctic Winter Games.

He was also able to trade clothing with athletes from places like Greenland."I am really proud to be Inupiaq, especially in this day and age," Heflin said. "There are many people around town and around Anchorage and around the state that don't really embrace their culture anymore."Heflin, who is also African-American, loves that the NYO Games bring together people from all over the state who share his love for Native culture preservation."I wanted to be where everyone embraces 100% of their culture," Heflin said.The drive to give his all to everything he does was instilled in him by his father, who passed away in 2021."He really pushed me to be the best I can and told me to do 100% on everything or just don't do it at all," Heflin said. "That's wh