The inspirational story behind Down Syndrome Ironman history maker Chris Nikic

Chris Nikic is one of those rare individuals in life who has the ability to make people genuinely believe they can achieve their dreams.

The Florida native was born in 1999 with Down syndrome and had open-heart surgery at five months old

He was not able to walk well until he turned four.

But Chris never used these facts as an excuse to not excel in life.

On New Year’s Eve of 2019, Chris told his father, Nick, that he had a dream.

“I told my dad that I wanted to own a business, to buy my own house and car, to be a public speaker, and to get married and start my own family,” Chris told Olympics.com.

Nick had an idea: Chris could become the first Down syndrome person to complete a full Ironman triathlon.

That’s a 3.8km (2.4 miles) swim, a 180km (112 miles) bicycle ride, and a full marathon run of 42.2km (26.2 miles) to finish.

Chris Nikic and the '1% Better' method

Using his skills as a corporate consultant, Nick created a training schedule for his son based on a system he used to improve businesses called “1% Better,” which involved creating a culture of continuous improvement.

“When I first started training, the simple goal was to improve one per cent in each exercise,” Chris explained.

“I did one more lap of the pool, one more lap on the bike, and one more lap on the run every day.”

“When I was doing strength workouts, it would be one more pull up, one more sit up, one more press up, and one more squat and barbell in the gym.

“I knew that by getting one per cent stronger every day, that one day I’d be able to complete an Ironman."

READ: Chris Nikic makes history for athletes with Down Syndrome

While physical progress was slow and steady, race experience provided a slightly steeper learning curve.

His first event was a sprint triathlon [750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run], and Chris finished 10th out of 10 Special Olympics athletes competing.

Unperturbed and with his dream in mind, Chris persevered with his training, and one mile eventually became 140.

In November 2020, just 11 months after beginning his triathlon journey, Chris made history by completing Ironman Florida.

“The hardest thing was the bike because I had to be on it for eight hours,” Chris revealed.

Meeting Mikaela Shiffrin

Chris’ achievement went viral, and his dream started to take shape.

He was invited to speak at prestigious events, signed endorsements with a major sports clothing brand and food outlets, and signed a book deal.

The young triathlete's achievements were also recognised with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance - given to a person in the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination - at the 2021 ESPYS.

Chris also got the opportunity to meet several famous athletes like NFL stars Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, while two-time Olympic gold medallist Mikaela Shiffrin offered to give him skiing lessons.

Other than creating a history-making Ironman in under a year, the “1% Better” method had another significant benefit too.

Despite training from four to eight hours a day, Chris never got injured.

”We stopped listening to experts and decided to do it our way, as all the other athletes were getting injured,” Nick revealed.

“With '1%', your body adjusts slowly, without pain, without injury, without the difficulties that come with going too fast.

“It builds a mindset of 'I can always do one more'. So when most people quit, when it gets painful, Chris never quits because he always knows that he can do one more. It doesn't matter where he is in the race, he knows he can do one more.”

The mantra helps Chris in other areas of his life too, like basketball, golf, learning, and public speaking.

_"_The mind becomes your friend, and when improving incrementally becomes a habit, it just encourages you and helps you do more," Nick continued.

Chris Nikic: "When people call me a hero, it makes me want to keep moving"

With the same fearlessness, Chris has thrown himself into more athletic challenges, completing two New York Marathons, as well as a second Ironman in Hawaii.

He has a girlfriend, and while Chris’ dream remains the same, his motivation to complete these gruelling endurance races has evolved.

“My girlfriend came to watch my Ironman in Hawaii and she was waiting at the finish line for me,” Chris said.

“Even when it got really tough, there was no way he was going to quit because I wanted to give her a promise ring at the finish line.”

Chris’ increased media attention means he also receives hundreds of messages online from parents of children with Down syndrome who thank him for being an inspiration.

In this way, competing for himself has been replaced by providing hope for others.

“When people call me a hero, it makes me want to keep moving, because I got to achieve my dreams, and now it’s about helping other people get theirs.”

A new test: Six Marathon Majors in one year

With the desire to keep challenging himself, Chris will attempt comfortably his biggest challenge to date in 2023: completing all six of the World Marathon Majors in New York, Chicago, Boston, London, Berlin, and Tokyo.

Another major goal for Chris is to continue raising awareness for neurodivergent athletes all over the world, and create opportunities for them to take part in all the major races.

Currently, only the Boston Marathon has a race for neurodivergent people, while Ironman was the first major sports federation to include the category.

“Our whole life we've been told what Chris can't do,” Nick said with a tear in his eye.

“And so we were prepared for a life of having to take care of him and protect him and create a situation that would care for him when we were done.

“When Chris crossed that Ironman finish line for the first time, it was the first time in my life when I looked at him and said, ‘You know what? He's going to be okay’.

“And more importantly, I thought all those other millions of parents and kids like him are going to be OK because they just saw an example of what's possible, something that contradicts what everybody has been telling us. Our kids can be included and can achieve their goals and their dreams.”

Chris has undoubtedly built a happy life for himself as a history-making triathlete inspiring people around the world.

But his world away from sport was also seemingly idyllic. After this interview, he had plans to go boxing training, play basketball, see a movie, and finish off a red velvet cake sitting in the kitchen.

When asked what one piece of advice he would give to somebody that also wanted to go out and achieve their goals against the odds, he smiled and said: “Just keep on moving.”