Spyros Chrysikopoulos: “I felt that I brought Greece closer” – Newsbomb – News
Lefteris Theodorakopoulos
25/09/2022 06:50
He made a miserable special, wonderful which carries many positive signs and one of them of geopolitical importance. The reason for the super-athlete Spyros Chrysikopoulos who ran from Rhodes to Kastelorizo, covering a total of 130 km – and more, in a period of about three 24 hours. It should be noted, however, that 130 km is the theoretical distance between Rhodes and Kastelorizos, in an absolutely straight line.
So, it is clear that Spyros Chrysikopoulos actually clocked well over 130km, which makes his feat all the more admirable for the limits of human endurance. He spoke to Newsbomb.gr about this project, about the difficulties he faced, about the people he had by his side, about how the critics received them and what his next goals are.
He is the only active Greek athlete who deals with open distances today, while he is already in the pantheon of athletes who manage to exceed 100 kilometers.
What difficulties did you encounter while you were in the water?
“The sea salt was so intense that from the very first day it caused severe swelling in my mouth, which escalated and eventually disfigured my face. This resulted in the mouth not closing due to the swelling allowing the sea water to enter the mouth, which caused me excruciating pain but I was “stubborn” and just kept swimming.
Have you ever felt tired? To reach your limits?
“From the very first hours I felt terribly tired, which is completely normal, but that’s exactly where you have to find the strength to continue. My limits were the first time I found them and overcame them.”
When you set foot on the land of Kastelorizos, what emotions overwhelmed you?
“When I stepped on the land of Kastellorizos I understood absolutely nothing! I need time to realize what exactly I have done. I thought for sure I would finally rest. As the days pass I feel a peace that I have realized a big dream”.
How did our guests welcome you?
“When I finished it was evening (22:20) and until the last moment I had not announced anywhere that I would start swimming from Rhodes to Kastellorizo. As for what they found out, shortly before I arrived, they went down to the port to welcome me with great joy and emotion. For precautionary reasons, I hastily left for Athens in order to confirm the good state of my health and after a week I returned to Kastellorizo to talk to the children. I am very happy to welcome me to their school where they asked me all the questions about the hours we were swimming and we played a game of questions regarding the protection of the environment and the ecological footprint of everyone on the planet”.
Your venture was also symbolic, wasn’t it?
“Of course it was symbolic! I have Kastelorizo in my heart and I always dream of being able to reach it by swimming, so that I can bring it closer to Greece! Since I was a child, I saw that it was not included on the map of Greece, or that it entered a box in some corner of the map. Unfortunately, many Greeks did not know of its existence and its geographical location”.
What are your next goals?
“I have many goals in mind both in Greece and abroad. We are certainly talking about a long distance. It’s still too early to decide what the next target will be. For now, I can’t wait for my mouth to recover so I can start training again.”