Waco's first IronMan attracted athletes from all over the United States Sunday morning.
Although the swim portion of the event was canceled due to flooding earlier this week, about 3,000 athletes were still able to compete in the 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run.
Of those 3,000 were 72 professional IronMan athletes, the largest number of pros at an IronMan event.
One of those pros was Dylan Gillespie, and he came all the way from Montana to compete for his third pro race.
"I did my first couple of IronMans last year, half IronMans. And then this year, I qualified for my pro license at Quarterlane, and this will be my third pro race," Dylan Gillespie said.
But, Sunday's competition was also a first for many athletes.
"I've never done an IronMan before. This is actually going to be my first triathlon, too. I did a couple when I was really, really, really young, but it's been a bucket list for me," Rebecca Turnipseed of Louisiana said. "I said that I would do it after I had children, before my second one was two, and he's 22 months old, so I had to find a race before he turned two."
Nearly 1,700 volunteers helped make Waco's first IronMan a huge success.
Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.
