Ironman Chris Nikic Has A Message For Stoolies
Big news over the weekend as everybody hopefully saw. V.I.P. Stoolie, and all-around awesome guy Chris Nikic became the first person with Down Syndrome to complete The Ironman Triathlon. And he did so in dominating fashion.
CNN - Special Olympics athlete Chris Nikic crossed the finish line on Saturday to become the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon.
Guiness World Records recognized Nikic's achievement after he finished a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-marathon run at the Ironman Florida competition in Panama City Beach.
"Ironman. Goal set and achieve," said Nikic in a post to Instagram. "Time to set a new and Bigger Goal for 2021."
Nikic completed the race in 16 hours 46 minutes and 9 seconds -- 14 minutes under the 17-hour cutoff time.
Nikic fell off his bike and was attacked by ants at a nutrition stop, but he pushed on to finish the competition, the Special Olympics said in a release.
"We are beyond inspired, and your accomplishment is a defining moment in Ironman history that can never be taken away from you," the Ironman Triathlon organization said in a post to Twitter.
I got the chance to check in with him and his trainer Dan Grieb on Sunday and asked how the race went.
"It went great brother, it was a tough race with a lot of issues, we had a bike crash, we had ant bites, we had trouble in the water and cramps on the run. Thank you so much for all that you and Barstool Sports have done for us."
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He even sent over a video thanking all of you, the stoolies, and Barstool as a whole. -
We ran a blog on Saturday documenting Chris' day and the response was amazing. Throughout the race more and more people tuned in to follow Chris' progress. It was really something to witness. And Chris was incredibly grateful.
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If his story somehow wasn't touching enough for you, the first thing Chris did after completing the race was head home to his mom, who was too sick to watch him cross the finish line in person, and present her with his medal.
Then he housed P.F. Changs. With extra rice. His favorite. (The only people who can possibly like P.F. Changs more than Chris are Marc Davis and Tiger Woods)
Mom was too sick to make it to Ironman so today was Special because I promised her my first Ironman medal. Thanks mom for 18 years of therapies. Then mom took me to the Doctor to help with all my battle wounds. Then she hit me P.F. Chang’s. Great to be home. Now I need a wife as special and amazing as my mom. Please go to my website if you want to learn more about how I used 1% Better to become an Ironman. Chrisnikic.com
As Dave loves to remind everybody, I would be "a virgin hermit if not for Barstool". And I can never deny I've got to go to some pretty amazing places, and meet some pretty incredible people through this company. But I honestly think the experience this year of casually blogging about Chris back in the spring, then meeting him and being blown away, and then following this journey of his is at the top of the list.
Seeing the power of positivity Stoolies displayed absolutely amazed Chris and his family. Anybody familiar with Barstool knows this is not a big surprise, as this company is always going above and beyond for great causes. Thank you all. Big TIme!
Here's a great recap video of Chris' race -