Man with Down Syndrome completes Iron Man Race

[ill]

Yeah, I know. Except this guy didn't seem to be vision impaired or blind. He did the bike portion untethered, for example.

here you go

Florida man first person with Down syndrome to finish Ironman triathlon

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 21-year-old Florida man has made history as the first person with Down syndrome to compete in an Ironman triathlon, which includes a 2. 4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26. 2-mile run in a single day. The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman...

local12.com

The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman competitor Dan Grieb who helped train him.
Florida race officials required Nikic to be tethered to Grieb in the ocean Saturday for safety reasons. Grieb also rode behind Nikic on the bike course and stayed near him on the run.

 

[Mofo]

here you go

Florida man first person with Down syndrome to finish Ironman triathlon

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 21-year-old Florida man has made history as the first person with Down syndrome to compete in an Ironman triathlon, which includes a 2. 4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26. 2-mile run in a single day. The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman...

local12.com

The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman competitor Dan Grieb who helped train him.
Florida race officials required Nikic to be tethered to Grieb in the ocean Saturday for safety reasons. Grieb also rode behind Nikic on the bike course and stayed near him on the run.

Still no real explanation of the specific "safety" concern. Since he is not visually impaired / blind, as you suggested, my first thought is more probably correct.

 

[wings-pens2166]

here you go

Florida man first person with Down syndrome to finish Ironman triathlon

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 21-year-old Florida man has made history as the first person with Down syndrome to compete in an Ironman triathlon, which includes a 2. 4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26. 2-mile run in a single day. The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman...

local12.com

The Special Olympics connected Chris Nikic with Ironman competitor Dan Grieb who helped train him.
Florida race officials required Nikic to be tethered to Grieb in the ocean Saturday for safety reasons. Grieb also rode behind Nikic on the bike course and stayed near him on the run.

exactly. the guides are there strictly for safety purposes. however, they cannot do anything to "propel you forward"

 

[ill]

Still no real explanation of the specific "safety" concern. Since he is not visually impaired / blind, as you suggested, my first thought is more probably correct.

look man, I am trying to help you out here.

the Ironman site says they use tethering for visually impaired folks.

I looked to see if he had any sort of vision impairment and found nothing so I dug a little deeper and got that the FL Ironman committee determined they wanted him tethered during the swim for safety reasons.

 

[ill]

exactly. the guides are there strictly for safety purposes. however, they cannot do anything to "propel you forward"

right.

I am not at all sure what Mofo is looking for.

 

[wings-pens2166]

Still no real explanation of the specific "safety" concern. Since he is not visually impaired / blind, as you suggested, my first thought is more probably correct.

I would guess it probably falls into the CYA because he's mentally impaired

 

[wings-pens2166]

right.

I am not at all sure what Mofo is looking for.

yeah me either. all I know is, tethers or no thethers, he accomplished something totally badass that I know I never will.


as I mentioned earlier in the thread, I'll never go above the 70.3 tri

 

[Me]

I was runner in HS and college. I've been road cycling for a few decades. Once I decided to do my first triathlon, I thought "hey, I've been swimming my whole life...no problem." jumped in the pool ripped off about 500m and could barely use my arms to push myself out of the pool. That's when I learned there is a huge difference between swimming and SWIMMING.

I would like to do another tri sometime... Really need to work on swimming, though

 

[ill]

I like finding more and more out about this guy

Florida man with Down syndrome becomes first to finish Ironman triathlon

A 21-year-old Florida man became the first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon, race officials said. Chris Nikic, of Maitland, finished the punishing race comprised of a 2.4-mi…

nypost.com

“I would say the running,” Nikic replied when asked his favorite part of the triathlon prior to the race. “It makes my butt cute and the ladies love it. I am extremely excited. I am going to crush this Ironman.”

 

[wings-pens2166]

I would like to do another tri sometime... Really need to work on swimming, though

I've actually gotten pretty proficient on the swim. I'll never be the fast guy, but I'm definitely better than I was and I've really learned to enjoy the swim. It's the run now that really kicks my ass. And unfortunately for me, the run is what separates the top performers and those just trying to survive (like me).

 

[wings-pens2166]

I like finding more and more out about this guy

Florida man with Down syndrome becomes first to finish Ironman triathlon

A 21-year-old Florida man became the first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon, race officials said. Chris Nikic, of Maitland, finished the punishing race comprised of a 2.4-mi…

nypost.com

“I would say the running,” Nikic replied when asked his favorite part of the triathlon prior to the race. “It makes my butt cute and the ladies love it. I am extremely excited. I am going to crush this Ironman.”

 

[Me]

I've actually gotten pretty proficient on the swim. I'll never be the fast guy, but I'm definitely better than I was and I've really learned to enjoy the swim. It's the run now that really kicks my ass. And unfortunately for me, the run is what separates the top performers and those just trying to survive (like me).

I think there were 10 people in my "group", and I was 10th on the swim, 8th on the ride, and 7th on the run.

Can't remember what the group was, but I was probably 29 at the time, so it was the prime athletes. I was ok with my bike and run performance

 

[Mofo]

look man, I am trying to help you out here.

the Ironman site says they use tethering for visually impaired folks.

I looked to see if he had any sort of vision impairment and found nothing so I dug a little deeper and got that the FL Ironman committee determined they wanted him tethered during the swim for safety reasons.

Again, what's the "safety reason"? He's not blind. Presumably, he can swim without drowning himself, and is at least a steadier runner than me if he can do a full marathon.

 

[PeoplesChicken]

Yeah, I know. Except this guy didn't seem to be vision impaired or blind. He did the bike portion untethered, for example.

Would you want to be tethered to someone on a bike?

 

[Mofo]

Would you want to be tethered to someone on a bike?

I wouldn't want to be tethered to anyone, period. Sounds like the FL Ironman group did it for "legal reasons" because they are biased against people with Down Syndrome...

 

[PeoplesChicken]

I think there were 10 people in my "group", and I was 10th on the swim, 8th on the ride, and 7th on the run.

Can't remember what the group was, but I was probably 29 at the time, so it was the prime athletes. I was ok with my bike and run performance

That's interesting. @Fish isn't even able to finish watching an Ironman

 

[ill]

Again, what's the "safety reason"? He's not blind. Presumably, he can swim without drowning himself, and is at least a steadier runner than me if he can do a full marathon.

better safe than sorry, man. It wasn't that they didn't have faith in him, but I think having someone by him just in case is a good precaution.

I like this headline better than "Man with Down's syndrome drowns while competing in Ironman"

 

[PeoplesChicken]

I wouldn't want to be tethered to anyone, period. Sounds like the FL Ironman group did it for "legal reasons" because they are biased against people with Down Syndrome...

How are they biased? I don't get where you are trying to take this? If they were biased they would never have let this man compete

 

[ill]

I wouldn't want to be tethered to anyone, period. Sounds like the FL Ironman group did it for "legal reasons" because they are biased against people with Down Syndrome...

oh for fucks sake

safety ain't silly, man.

 

[PeoplesChicken]

I would guess it probably falls into the CYA because he's mentally impaired

Another thing to consider is with any athlete there is the risk of becoming disoriented from dehydration or overexertion. Couple that with his disability there is another level of risk. I have no issue with the tether