Relieved weightlifters recall their past struggles
ANTALYA – Leonidas Sabanis had good reason to feel particularly delighted following his triumph at the European Weightlifting Championships here in Turkey on Wednesday night, picking up two gold medals and a silver in the men’s 62-kilogram category. Sidelined by injury until recently, the athlete missed the chance to prove his worth against the world’s best at the recent World Championships last November. «It was a significant victory that came just when I needed it. Hitting the top is important for all athletes. Especially when preparations are not ideal,» said Sabanis during an interview at the squad’s hotel yesterday that included his coach, Christos Iakovou, and teammate Natasha Tsakiri, who also walked away with three medals in the women’s 63-kilogram category. Sabanis, who spoke excitedly about his success, a condition that was prompted by anxious moments during his recovery, thanked his team’s medical staff and trainers for their support as well as the national weightlifting federation’s president, Yiannis Sgouros. While commenting on Sabanis, the team’s coach, Iakovou, also focused his remarks on the athlete’s injury woes, stressing that his resilient nature – psychologically and physically – was a crucial factor in his impressive return. Sabanis dedicated his medals to his daughter, Anastasia, who turned 7 yesterday. Tsakiri, who won the snatch with a 105-kilogram lift, came second in the clean-and-jerk with a 125-kilogram effort, and second overall, said her success ultimately meant added pressure. «The fact that everyone expects triumphs and medals makes me nervous. But it’s something you can’t avoid. I realized that I belonged in weightlifting when I began getting results at international level,» said Tsakiri, a medical student. The 22-year-old athlete emerged on world weightlifting’s center stage at last November’s World Championships in this Turkish resort city with a gold and two silver medals. Despite her studies, Tsakiri noted that all her efforts were focused on weightlifting. Yet, she said, «my thoughts don’t reach as far as the Athens Olympics. The only thing I think about is my next effort.» Thinking back to the early days of Tsakiri’s sporting career, both she and her coach agreed that her beginnings were not so promising. «Oh, she has been a handful… She was rebellious and we had to persevere plenty to get her to cooperate,» Iakovou recalled. «But we’ve managed. She’s professional and systematic.»
