Julia Marino

Westport Celebrates Olympic Snowboarder Julia Marino

NBC Universal, Inc.

Celebrating a hometown hero was one of the themes in Westport as the community welcomed back Julia Marino.

There were a lot of smiling faces inside the Westport Library on Saturday night.

Many people packed inside to get a chance to get an autograph and picture with Julia Marino who just picked up an Olympic silver medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

This is the second time Jeannette Floto and her three kids were able to reunite with Marino.

"We've always been following her and fans and we all watched her up actually in Vermont with family, friends and we were all cheering for her while she was competing," said Floto.

"It's kind of cool because it's like, I can do that one day," said Alexandra Floto, Jeannette's daughter.

A lot of the excitement comes from fans, but also Marino who tells NBC Connecticut she enjoys giving young girls and boys motivation to reach for the stars.

"I love connecting with all the kids and the parents," said Marino. "I had a lot of role models, so I just want to do my best to give back in that way."

On top of her hometown pouring in to see her, so did her father, John Marino.

John tells NBC Connecticut he's proud of all of his daughter's accomplishments and her taking the time to give back to a town that poured so much into her.

"It's awesome, I love it. I think it's so well-deserved," said John. "I'm glad that all the people that love and support her and have been friends with her for all these years."

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