The recognition to Justin Latimer this past October is just the latest achievement for the Chautauqua Lake Central School graduate.

Latimer was nominated for the award by Robert Samuelson, former captain with the Jamestown Police Department. The Law Enforcement Torch Run International Executive Council Athlete Award was created to recognize outstanding Special Olympics athletes who have contributed to the success of the torch run on a local, state or national level. Nominees contribute to torch runs and Special Olympics in “spirit, dedication and enthusiasm in an effective fashion,” the organization said.

Latimer was unaware he was the recipient of this year’s highest honor when he traveled to Chicago in October to take part in what he thought was an international torch run.

During torch run season, he trains up to five times a week, “So he can keep up with the officers,” he mom, Brenda, said.

Justin Latimer, a longtime Special Olympics New York athlete, is pictured in October with Jeff Wilson, a retired border patrol agent. In October, Latimer was given the Law Enforcement Torch Run International Executive Council Athlete Award.

“He would start in Mayville Park and go up that long gradual hill in case there were any hills in Chicago,” she said. “There were none, but he trained uphill just in case. … But that’s what he does — he runs five days a week during torch run season.”

For the Chicago event, Latimer ran with Jeff Wilson, a retired border patrol agent from Buffalo. Wilson’s child, Hailey, also is a special needs athlete, and the two families have become close with Special Olympics.

Before the run itself, the 26-year-old Latimer attended a ceremony with his mom when he learned he was receiving the international athlete award.

His award states, “In honor of your outstanding contributions to the Law Enforcement Torch Run and Special Olympics in spirit, dedication, and enthusiasm in both an effective and unheralded fashion. Your unwavering commitment to others has been recognized by the Law Enforcement Torch Run International Executive Council.”

Brenda was unaware she was required to speak while her son accepted the award. In the end, she mentioned her son’s love of police officers and the safety he feels among them. The Law Enforcement Torch Run, she told the Chicago crowd, “has given so much to our family. His brother is a K-9 handler for bomb detection. … Thank you for loving Justin and giving him a place that he truly belongs.”

Latimer is a multi-sport participant in Special Olympics New York; he has competed in golf, bocce, bowling and floor hockey. He also takes part in a local torch run held each May in Jamestown as well as the international torch run held each September in Niagara Falls.

“I feel safe around them,” Latimer said of the officers during the runs.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run was born in 1981 when a police chief in Wichita, Kansas, sought to get police officers more active in the community and support the Special Olympics. Known as Guardians of the Flame, members of law enforcement and Special Olympics athletes carry the “Flame of Hope” into opening ceremonies of local competitions.

According to the Special Olympics, there are more than 97,000 law enforcement members that carry the “Flame of Hope” each year. It symbolizes “courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe,” the organization said.

Locally, Latimer has run with Samuelson and other members of the Jamestown Police Department.