$18K worth of merchandise stolen from Ironman Waco vendor

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Ironman Waco and Ironman 70.3 returned to Waco this past weekend, but after a major theft, one vendor had to leave the competition early.

John Aselton is a disabled veteran and owner of Koru Performance. His Dallas-based business sells endurance products like muscle relaxing lotions and creams for post-race use.

He was all set to sell his products at Saturday’s triathlon until someone stole $18,000 worth of merchandise and equipment overnight.

“Honestly, we showed up and it was like a dream. I was like, ‘did I pack everything up and not remember. Did I load it in the van? Did I move it somewhere?’ After about ten minutes of looking, it was like, no it was for sure stolen,” said Aselton.

All the vendors for Ironman Waco were stationed at Indian Spring Park.

Ironman also hired Paladin Security, a third-party security company to watch those items, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the theft.

Leaving the tables behind, the thief stole everything from products to credit card machines leaving Aselton with no choice but to pack up and return home.

“Everything else was taken, to include all of our product, our point-of-sale system, our branding material including the flags. We had teardrop flags,” said Aselton.

The company is looking to move forward after the near $20,000 loss.

They’re looking to replenish the stock that was stolen but until that can happen, koru performance has had to pull out from future events.

“We’re just going to take the hit and move on. We’re going to refill the products, reorder the stuff that was stolen. Just get back to where we were before. Just keep on moving,” said Aselton.

In a statement to KWTX, Ironman said:

“We were very disappointed to learn of the unfortunate theft that took place at our Expo in Indian Springs Park leading up to this past weekend’s event.

“We have been in communication with the vendor and are working with them closely to fully understand their loss and support them how we are able.

“We are also in contact with the contracted third-party security team that was hired to provide overarching security for the Expo area to gain any further details.

“As this matter is now with the local authorities, we will continue to fully cooperate in any investigation and are hopeful for the recovery of items taken.”

Anyone with information regarding the theft is encouraged to contact Waco police.

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