Jackson 'Ironman' draws inspiration from Down syndrome competitor

By day, Jackson’s Scott Wensler is a mortgage originator with USA Mortgage.

In his off-hours, in addition to his responsibilities as a husband and father of two small boys, he enjoys testing his physical limits.

Saturday, Wensler competed in his first full Ironman contest on Florida’s Gulf Coast — a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle race and a 26.2 mile running marathon at Panama City Beach.

Just viewing that last sentence is enough to make a reader tired.

Wensler, who was injured Friday when one of his feet made rough contact with a cinder block during a practice swim, finished the race in 13 hours, 36 minutes — a time the avid triathlete considered slow for him.

“Please don’t make this article just about me,” said Wensler, 32, who was full of admiration for another competitor.

“I was hurting (during competition) but when I saw Chris Nikic doing it, too, he kept me going,” he added.

Pioneer Special Olympian

Nikic, 21, became the first person in history with Down syndrome to complete a full-distance Ironman triathlon with a time of 16:46:09, despite falling twice off his bicycle.

Ironman rules state a competitor must finish the race in less than 17 hours.

“(Nikic) was going slow but he was doing it,” said Wensler, who contended the Ironman race is “the hardest endurance race on planet Earth.”

Encounters with Nikic

Wensler said he passed Nikic around the 11-mile marker of Saturday’s run, the final Ironman event, and was full of admiration for his younger competitor.

“This kid changed my view of the race,” Wensler said.

“He’s been dealt a bad deck (in life) and (Nikic is) out there trying to get better,” he added.

Nikic and Wensler were part of a pre-race Facebook group designed to allow competitors to share pointers and advice about the grueling Ironman event.

“During the swim portion, you hear about jellyfish and other sea creatures,” said Wensler, who added that significant headwinds during the run can be tough to overcome.

“(Nikic’s) dad posted for him in the group and I recall (Chris) saying he just wanted to get 1% better every day,” he said.

Overcoming lifelong adversity

The Florida native has experienced many setbacks and developmental delays related to his condition, according to a recent story in Sports Illustrated.

“(Nikic) had open heart surgery at five months old, was not able to walk well until age four and could not eat solid food until he was five,” reported si.com on November 9.

“I had dark periods during the race,” said Wensler, who said he considered quitting because of a hole in his foot suffered in the practice swim.

“I thought about Nikic every 10 miles or so, and his example showed me anyone can do (a triathlon) if they want to,” he said.