Driver Hits Athlete During Ironman Jacksonville

A truck driver hit Zachary Stinson, a triathlete from Orlando, just before the halfway point of the Ironman Jacksonville bike course this past Saturday.

“I saw it happening like in slow motion,” Stinson told Action News Jax. “I had to make a decision, and I just turned my body and braked as hard as I could, but I couldn’t stop all my momentum.”

The impact left him with a laceration to his forehead that required stitches.

Stinson described riding in a coned off lane, with vehicle traffic moving alongside. “I’m thinking about my cadence, heartbeat, power and nutrition – not my safety,” he told Action News Jax. “I’ve done the training, I’ve done everything I need to do. I let Ironman work out the details and make sure it’s safe for the athletes.”

Despite the collision, Stinson made a decision not to wait for first responders and to continue his race. “It was probably not a smart decision on my part to not wait around, but I was down for maybe a minute or two, and I was just so determined and focused on continuing. But in my periphery, I could see the truck stop. I could see the guy get out, obviously in disbelief of what happened,” he told News4JAX.

He would go on to finish the race in approximately 11 hours.

The most difficult moment came later on course.

“The worst part was knowing that my wife and daughter were up ahead,” he told News4JAX. “I knew they were on the bike course and they were about to see me.”

Stinson says he does not place blame on any one person or group. Instead, he sees the incident as part of a broader discussion about how races of this scale are managed.

“There’s always going to be challenges, right, logistical challenges with this massive a race covering 112 miles in the big city,” he told Action News Jax. “It just takes taking a hard look at everything, not casting blame or fault, just saying what we can do better.”

The Jacksonville event, which brought nearly 2,000 athletes from more than 39 countries, was the first time the city hosted a full distance Ironman. The bike course extended into St. Johns County, where officials reported multiple incidents and close calls throughout the day.

Stinson also recalled seeing another cyclist struck during the race.

Local officials have since raised concerns about traffic management and oversight. St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph stated that the county’s board had not formally voted on the event and described several near misses between vehicles and athletes while she was in traffic during the race. She posted the following feedback on Facebook:

“The BCC (Board of County Commissioners) did not vote on this Jacksonville event. I can tell you all right now, after sitting in traffic for 3 hours and watching the close calls of car vs golf cart vs bikers that approval for something National like this needs to come to the BCC. Not only did I just get off the phone with the County Administrator and she was unaware of this event but also conveyed my concerns to the Sheriff.”

Separately, law enforcement intervened in an incident involving a suspected impaired driver who entered a section of the course later in the day. Officers stopped the vehicle before any injuries occurred. This situation further highlights the importance of controlled race environments, particularly on open roads.

For Stinson, now with three Ironman finishes, the experience does not end his involvement in the sport, but it may influence future decisions.

“It does make you rethink everything,” he told News4JAX. “But yeah, I think I’ll be back out there.”

He added that he may look more closely at races with fully closed courses.

As for Jacksonville, city council confirmed that the Ironman team will be meeting with city officials to discuss route alternatives for future events.