Tulsa Man Qualifies For Ironman World Championship In Hawaii

After an unconventional journey to the sport, a Tulsan has solidified his spot in the Ironman World Championships.

Monday, May 24th 2021, 9:51 pm

By: Amy Avery

TULSA, Oklahoma -

A Tulsa man who raced in Sunday’s Ironman Triathlon qualified for a spot in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

Nine hours, 25 minutes and one second after starting the race, Noel Mulkey was the first Oklahoman to finish Tulsa's first Ironman Triathlon - in his hometown.

"I could hear go Noel, go Noel,” said Mulkey. “I was expecting some crowd support, but it was just everywhere, it was really cool!"

Now, he's headed to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

Noel's mom, Karen, started participating in triathlons in her early 20's. In 1985, she won a triathlon in Louisiana which qualified her for a spot in the Ironman World Championships - but she didn't get to go.

Now, she'll get to go watch her son compete.

"She gets to go! She gets to Kona and I know my parents have always wanted to go and be in the atmosphere,” said Mulkey. “It's just going to be a really cool experience."

Mulkey said his journey to the sport wasn't conventional. He said he was addicted to drugs in high school and after he became sober, he gained a lot of weight.

Six years ago, he started running to get back in shape and lost 50 pounds. He said now, he doesn't know where he'd be without triathlons in his life.

"It saved my life because I found an outlet that I love doing, that’s healthy, that I can spend all day doing,” said Mulkey. "I've used a lot before and no high compares to crossing that finish line yesterday, nothing is better than that feeling."

Noel documents his training on TikTok and has more than 750,000 followers from all over the world.

He can't wait to continue his training for Hawaii in October - and again for Tulsa's race next year.

"The fact that we get to sleep in our own bed and do a world class event, I can't pass that up, I'm going to have to sign up every year," said Mulkey.

There were 150 qualifying spots in the Tulsa race for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this year. Ironman signed a three-year contract with Tulsa, so they’ll be back again in 2022 and 2023.