Athletes From Around The World Compete In Final Tulsa IRONMAN

Athletes from around the world swam, biked, and ran through Tulsa for the IRONMAN competition Sunday.

The families of athletes say they couldn’t be prouder of the people competing and all the hard work it took to get here.

Adam Mattingly’s family traveled to Tulsa from St. Louis to watch him compete.

His daughter, Taylor Mattingly, says she’s so proud of her dad.

"It's just fun to watch him!" said Taylor.

Athletes like Adam swam for 2.4 miles, biked for 112 miles, and then ran a marathon (26.2 miles).

"He's been training for months, he spends hours on the bike each day, goes for hour-long runs,” said Leslie Mattingly, his wife.

Leslie is glad she and Taylor were able to make the trip to Green Country.

"We wanted to come out to Tulsa to support my husband in the IRONMAN, this is going to be his second full IRONMAN, and I'm excited to be here,” said Leslie. “I haven't had a chance to be at one in person, so we're happy to be here. It was close enough to drive."

The athletes come from all over the world and spend thousands of hours training for the big day.

Volunteers say they like that the Ironman gives them the chance to meet people from all over and hear their stories.

"It encourages the community of athletes here and everybody for the Ironman comes from all over the country, as well as other countries, and so it's kind of cool to have them all work together for the same goal," said Erica Wilson, a volunteer.

Taylor says her dad worked hard for today, so she’s excited to watch it all pay off.

"He's nice, he's fast, he's good at everything pretty much,” said Taylor.

The course will close, and volunteers will take the finish line down for the last time at 12:20 a.m. Monday morning because the IRONMAN will not be returning to Tulsa next year.