Many in the DS community have been following Chris Nikic - a man who is training for the Ironman on Nov 7th in the Gulf Coast - and happens to have Down syndrome.
He is shattering assumptions of what people with Down syndrome “won’t” be able to do. He didn’t walk until age 4 or eat solids until age 5.
I appreciated this blurb:
“Though Chris will swim and run while tethered to his Special Olympics partner and receive help transitioning between sports, he will be tasked with following the rest of the Ironman rules. “We don't make any accommodations for anyone around the core elements of racing,” explains Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman Group. All athletes must complete the same distances and meet the same cutoff times. That means if Chris crosses the finish line in less than 17 hours, “it'll be the same accomplishment as everybody else,” Messick says. “And that’s awesome.” It’s also damn impressive.”
GO CHRIS!!
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