Mystic - Dirk Vlieks of Hatch Street did it.

Five years after suffering a life-threatening stroke at the Rohto Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon in Hawaii he returned to the race Saturday and completed his goal of finishing the race. His time was six hours and 57 minutes.

Vlieks, 38, who was profiled in The Day last week, has spent the past five years relearning how to walk, talk, eat and perform other activities he once took for granted. Despite still having vision and balance problems, Vlieks completed the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile swim in 1,071th place among the 1,600 competitors.

At the race in 2006, he began feeling dizzy at the 22-mile mark of the bike course and had to stop and lay down. Vlieks, a top-level triathlete, soon found out he had suffered a stroke brought on by collection of abnormal blood vessels in his brain.

On Saturday, Vlieks cycled past the spot on the bike course where he was stricken five years ago.

Vlieks was not immediately available for comment Sunday but his wife, Kelsey, who was among a group of friends and relatives with him at the race said it was an emotional moment for all of them when he finished.

"It was such a great day," she said. "I'm so happy for him."

She said that at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Dirk was wide awake, too nervous to sleep.

"It took some convincing (to reassure him). I told him you can do this. Just go out there. You can do it," she said.

Kelsey said that while Dirk's swim and bike times were slower than expected, things got better on the run.

"He did awesome on the run," she said, averaging between 8:00 and 8:30 miles.

"I think he's really glad it's over though," she aid.

While race officials kept an eye on him, Kelsey rode a moped out onto the bike course to meet Dirk at different locations. She said she felt much more comfortable when she saw how strong he looked.

At the finish, race officials gave her a large lei to put around Dirk's neck, an honor usually reserved for the race winner.

As Dirk walked around after the race, Kelsey said she tried to get him to take it off because she was worried that some people may think he finished first.

He refused.

"Let me have my moment of glory," he joked.

j.wojtas@theday.com