A 27-year-old British triathlete became the first known athlete with autism to finish a grueling 70.3 mile Ironman competition Saturday, CBS News reports. Sam Holness completed the 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run combination event in 5 hours and 44 minutes.
Holness and the other competitors fought rain, lightning and even a sandstorm Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah. “I feel very proud,” he said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday, along with his father and coach, Tony. “I’m happy and I can’t wait to get back to training.”
“If you can just inspire people and raise the awareness of autism, help employers to start recruiting more people on the spectrum and do it through sport, and that’s narrowing it down to what our mission is and what we want to do,” Tony said.