Chris Nikic Becomes First Athlete With Down Syndrome To Finish Ironman World Championship
23-year-old Chris Nikic just became the first athlete to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i earlier this month.
Nikic is not only an athlete, but he’s a motivational speaker with a mission to spread awareness about Down Syndrome and live life to the full potential.
Back in November of 2020, Chris became the first athlete with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman (as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records).
While that was a huge accomplishment, he didn’t stop there. Chris continued to compete and went on to become the first athlete with Down Syndrome to finish an Ironman World Championship.
Author Brian Metzler wrote about Chris’ achievement on Instagram, saying: “Not a dry eye in the house after Chris Nikic became the first person with Down syndrome to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kona last night. On his 23rd birthday. And then something else happened. Watch the video!”
Despite working so hard to finish the Ironman, Chris had enough energy to stay up and party! He shared about the post-race celebration on Instagram, saying:
“Good morning. 8 hours ago I finished the Hawaii Ironman. Then we stayed up and had a party until 4. I just woke up to see my social media and OMG. Thank you for all your support. By getting 1% better every day, we can all do so much more then we think. Try it. Love you.”
You can keep up with Chris on Instagram, @chrisnikic.
