First Person with Down Syndrome Completes Iron Man World Championship!
The very first person with Down syndrome completed the Iron Man Championship this weekend in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
This is my favorite story of the weekend.
Chris Nikic completed the 140.6-mile race – a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run – in 16 hours, 31 minutes and 27 seconds.
Temps topped 90 degrees. The humidity was 85 percent. But the phenom from Florida became the first person with Down syndrome to finish the 140.6-mile world championship race in Hawaii.
With help of his volunteer guide, Dan Grieb, Nikic crossed the finish line to cheers and open arms and Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lotta Love”.
Check this out:
“When Nikic crossed the finish line, he jumped into the arms of Grieb, who was at his side the entire way,” Outsideonline.com reported.
At the end of the race, Nikic, 23, presented this girlfriend and fellow triathlete, Adrienne Bunn, with a promise ring.
Nikic was born with Down syndrome, a condition where a person is born with an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. That extra can cause mental and physical challenges for the individual.
Nikic had open-heart surgery at five months.
He did not walk on his own until he was four.
To keep him from choking, his family fed him baby food until he was 6.
“It was a long journey from a challenging boyhood to the Ironman World Championship, but Nikic has always been up to the challenge,” Outsideonline.com reported.
Nikic runs the 1% Better Foundation, which helps others with Down syndrome.
“I want to be an example for other people with Down syndrome. I want to open doors,” Nikic said previously. “And I want to raise awareness. Anyone who sees people with Down syndrome: don’t look away or walk away.”