{"id":277479,"date":"2022-10-08T09:22:50","date_gmt":"2022-10-08T14:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=277479"},"modified":"2022-10-07T17:39:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T22:39:56","slug":"chris-nikic-down-syndrome-ironman-world-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/chris-nikic-down-syndrome-ironman-world-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Nikic becomes first man with Down syndrome to complete Ironman World Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chris Nikic has once again made history, as the first person with Down syndrome to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Almost two years ago<\/a>, Nikic stunned the world by becoming the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon. The event is said to be one of the most challenging in the world, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run, which must be completed within a 17-hour time frame.<\/p>\n

Doctors originally predicted that Nikic would never be able to do anything like an Ironman, but he worked hard to prove them all wrong, even rebounding from a series of surgeries as a teenager that left him unable to ride a bike or swim even one lap in the pool. \u201cI don\u2019t use my condition as an excuse,\u201d Nikic said. \u201cInstead, I work harder… My dad told me, \u2018Don\u2019t ever doubt your dreams, Chris.\u2019 He told me God gave me gifts. I don\u2019t ever doubt my dreams now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After completing the Ironman triathlon, Nikic went on to break more barriers. He became the first person with Down syndrome to run both the Boston<\/a> and New York City<\/a> marathons, as well as the first athlete with Down syndrome to get an official sponsorship<\/a>. He also won<\/a> ESPN’s Jimmy V Award for Perseverance in 2021.<\/p>\n

But he still had more to accomplish: another Ironman triathlon, this time in Kona, Hawaii, where the world championship is held, on an even more challenging course than the one in Florida. He continued training with Dan Grieb, his trainer and guide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second Nikic gets in the water for the start of the race on October 6, people all over the world with intellectual disabilities have won, and become part of the larger endurance community,\u201d Grieb told Cycling Weekly<\/a> before the race. \u201cMy goal for Nikic is to see him tackle this race the way I know he can and test his limitations and see how far he can go on race day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by National Down Syndrome Society (@ndssorg)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n