TAMPA, Fla. — Next month, hundreds of athletes will be in Haines City for Ironman 70.3 Florida. Among those athletes will be two Special Olympians who aren’t only inspiring each other, but the entire community.
When Ryan and Robert first met through Boy Scouts three years ago, they immediately became great friends. Both had Special Olympic dreams.
For Ryan, his specialty was cycling, while for Robert, it was swimming.
“I ended up having to buy an electric bike to keep up with him because he’s so fast,” said Ryan’s dad, Ronald Aytona.
“I’m super proud of him. He motivates me to want to get faster,” said Robert’s coach, Mark Dailey.
So these two friends decided, why not combine their strength and determination into one team?
“They really enjoy being together. Socialization is important for them, and having the different teammates, and they were really eager to practice rather than being alone,” said Ronald.
“Ryan is fast. I know he’s fast. He’s good, he’s fast on swimming, fast on the bike and the run,” said Robert.
Ryan, who lives with autism, and Robert, who lives with Down syndrome, went on to reach the top of the podium in the triathlon. It was time for the next challenge: the Half-Ironman.
It consists of 56 miles of cycling, 13.1 miles of running, and 1.2 miles of swimming.
“Special Olympics programs solely focus on shorter distance triathlons, but like all triathletes, when they conquered those shorter distances, they wanted to go further. So they came to us looking for some guidance,” said Kathryn Northup.
Coaches Kathryn and Jerome have worked with dozens of Special Olympic athletes, but they say only a handful of them have gone on to compete in a Half Ironman.
“They push each other every day. They ride together, they push each other, and we are trying to get them to come out and have a great first performance for their first half Ironman," said Kathryn.
Robert and Ryan are thankful for all the friends, family and coaches who have supported them on this journey. They hope to be an inspiration to all Special Olympians to keep setting new goals.
“Thank you for everybody watching this on ABC Action News. Man, this is great, awesome,” said Robert.
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