Mladenič z Downovim sindromom navdušil svet

Chris Nikic je postal prva oseba z Downovim sindromom, ki je uspel zaključiti Ironman. Za ta podvig je moral preplavati 3.86, prekolesariti 180,25 in preteči 42,2 kilometra. Slovito triatlonsko preizkušnjo je potrebno končati pod časom 17 ur. Nikicu je to uspelo v 16 urah, 46 minutah in devetih sekundah, s tem pa si je prislužil uvrstitev v Guinnessovo knjigo rekordov.

"Ni mej. Nadaljuj z velikimi sanjami in hodi proti njim," je o njegovem podvigu zapisala legendarna teniška igralka Billie Jean King, na službenem twitter računu Ironmana pa so dodali: "Razbill si vse ovire in dokazal, da je prav vse mogoče."

.@ChrisNikic, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

Congratulations Chris on becoming the first person with Down syndrome to finish an IRONMAN. You have shattered barriers while proving without a doubt that Anything is Possible!

(1/3) pic.twitter.com/YMa1ix0DGH

— IRONMAN Triathlon (@IRONMANtri) November 8, 2020

V 42-letni zgodovini maratona se nihče z Downovim sindronom ni lotil takšnega poizkusa. "To Chrisu pomeni več od samega prihoda v cilj in proslave dosežka. Ironman mu je služil kot platforma za to, da je bližje vključitvi v družbo, normalnemu življenju in liderstvu. Gre za to, da je on zgled ostalim otrokom in družinam, ki se srečujejo s podobnimi ovirami. Dokazal je, da niti ene sanje ali cilj ni previsok. Če lahko Chris dokonča Ironman, potem je vse mogoče," je dejal njegov oče Nikola.

Chrisa na instagramu spremlja več kot 73 tisoč ljudi. "Cilj je bil postavljen in izpolnjen. Zdaj je čas za nov in večji cilj v letu 2021. Česarkoli se bom lotil, bo strategija enaka. Biti 1% boljši kot dan prej," je zapisal Chris.

 

 

 

 

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IRONMAN. Goal set and achieved. Time to set a new and BIGGER Goal for 2021. Whatever it is the strategy is the same. 1% Better every day. YES, I did the work but I had angels helping me. God surrounded me with Angels. Best part of all. New family and friends. All about awareness and inclusion. Awareness for Down Syndrome and Special Olympics. Inclusion for all of us with all of you. I’m sorry for not responding personally to all your messages. It’s amazing but overwhelming because I got 33K new followers and messages since yesterday. I will try and catch up. If you want to support my mission for Down Syndrome and Special Olympics go to my website www.ChrisNikic.com because 100% of the donations go to my charities. I achieved my goal and now I want to help others like me. Thank you to @ironmantri and @im_foundation for making it possible. Thank you @specialolympics @specialolympicsfl for starting the triathlon program. Thank you @rodsracing for giving a home to babies like me. I will be thanking so many more people over the coming days. But I must start with the 3 Angels who trained with me and did the race with me. Dan, Jenn and Carlos. #inclusion

A post shared by Chris Nikic (@chrisnikic) on Nov 8, 2020 at 7:54am PST