It took about a year for even the unbelievers to realize the benefits of the IQFOIL European sailing championship, held in Patras by the IOP under the Hellenic Sailing Federation.
Through the organization, two Greek athletes, Kameron-Alexandros Maramanidis and Byron Kokkalanis, qualified for the Paris Olympic Games.
Especially for the first one, if there was no IQFOIL of Patras, the process would not have been started by the Federation to find a coach and for the athlete to proceed as he should in order to achieve his goal.
The young athlete who belongs to the “Jason Rio” Sailing Club secured the qualification in the Formula Kite category, as he won the 4th place in the classification in the new Olympic class, securing one of the three total qualifications in the international competition that took place in the French city of Hierre.
For Kokkalanis, who also participated in the organization of Patras and had to compete with great athletes, it is the 4th time he will take part in the Olympic Games. After competing in RSX in 2012, 2016 and 2021, the 39-year-old will compete in Paris in the iqfoil class which is the successor to RSX.
“It is a moral satisfaction for us as well, that we have a small share in the qualification of the two athletes to the Olympic Games. This big event organized in Patras was the trigger for them to reach high and we are very happy about it”, said the president of the IOP, Costas Kalogeropoulos. So far Greece counts 59 members in 13 sports, which will take part in the Olympic Games in Paris.
“EVERYTHING STARTED WITH THE EVENTS”
The management of the IOP issued an announcement on the matter: “Our joy is even greater because in both of these qualifiers the Sailing Club of Patras put its “stone”. Byron Kokkalanis and the Greek team participated in the “IQFOIL Sailing” Open Pan-European Championship, organized by our Club in Patras, a sports event that attracted all the great athletes worldwide and gave them the opportunity to train together for over a month in our country .
Maramenidis registered as an athlete in the other sailing club of our city, “AIO Rio Iason”, to which we publicly send our congratulations. Everything started from these events! The Hellenic Sailing Federation invested in these athletes with coaches, hard work and sending them to big races and they won.
“IT IS ABOUT THE TRIUMPH OF GREEK SAILING”
The Federation issued a statement congratulating the athletes:
“This is a triumph for Greek sailing, if you consider that in recent years many categories have changed and the financial requirements for the purchase of new boats are enormous.
And yet our athletes responded and once again proved their great potential.
The Sailing Federation was constantly by the side of the athletes and made sure that there was the strongest support team in Hyères that had the signature of the technical advisor of the EO Tasos Boudouris.
The leader of the mission was Emilios Papathanasiou, technical advisor to the president Nikis Anastasiou and the Board of Directors, who offers his services without pay,” he says, among other things.
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