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Nikic finished the race with just 14 minutes to spare to make the 17-hour cutoff time.

Now that he's achieved his Ironman goal, Nikic is ready to move onto his next accomplishment.

View this post on Instagram

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

Nikic is a Special Olympics athlete. In a press release, the organization said, \"During the race, Chris suffered an attack by ants during a nutrition stop and fell off of his bike a couple of times. With blood dripping from his knee, he jumped right back on in a show of true sportsmanship and grit.\"

The newly minted Ironman has also been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. \"“It's an honor to welcome Chris into the Guinness World Records fraternity as the first athlete with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman and I look forward to seeing what more is in store from this remarkable young man,\" said Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday.

The Ironman organization said that Nikic used the the 42-year-old event and it's Ironman Foundation as a way to raise money for causes he is passionate about. He's raised nearly $40,000 so far.

“We are extremely honored and proud that Chris chose Ironman as his vehicle to prove that anything is possible. His journey has inspired so many and reminded us of the power and resiliency of the human spirit,” said Andrew Messick, president and CEO of The Ironman Group.

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