Papadimitriou takes the long road to sports success
It was a long wait for hammer-thrower Alexandros Papadimitriou’s first major career distinction, a bronze medal at the recent European Championships in Munich at the age of 29. Commenting on the triumph, Papadimitriou, in an interview with Kathimerini, pointed out the fine line in top-level competition that separates the medal winners from the rest. He would have regarded any place amid the top eight a success, Papadimitriou noted. «All eight of us were superb. Any of us could have won a medal,» Papadimitriou noted, who, despite stressing the narrow gap that separates winners from losers, did not hide the joy and relief provided by Munich’s gold medal. «At long last, it was high time. For years I’d waited to capture a top-eight placing.» Quite remarkably, Papadimitriou barely made it through to the hammer-throw event’s final eight before eventually winning the bronze. Of the final’s 12 starters – the top eight performers after three throws continue with a further three throws, while the remaining four athletes are eliminated – Papadimitriou scraped through in eighth place. His 80.21-meter throw, which earned the athlete the bronze, was registered on the fifth attempt. Papadimitriou, who had qualified for the Sydney Olympics final in 2000, said his European title would now force competitors to take more serious consideration of him in the future. «Some competitors knew who I was from the Olympic final, but they’ll now be seeing me with a different eye,» the athlete said. Though distinction has been rare throughout Papadimitriou’s career, the athlete says that he enjoys competing regardless of the results. «I don’t always enjoy competition,» he pointed out. «I’ve enjoyed plenty of competition over the past two years, perhaps because I’m happy in my personal life. Sport is not life’s whole. It’s a chapter of it. You’ve got to enjoy life in its entirety,» he added. Papadimitriou studied ergophysiology in the USA while also pursuing his efforts in competitive sports. The 29-year-old athlete, who said he would continue competing for as long as he could, noted that his financial survival – on the sport’s periphery – had been possible with the support of SEGAS, Greece’s track and field federation, as well as his sponsors. But he said SEGAS had a poor record of supporting athletes through difficult periods of their careers. «They won’t come and talk to you and console you after failure,» Papadimitriou said. The athlete was also critical of what he sees as an overemphasis on the Athens 2004 Olympics by local sports officials, which he believes could endanger Greek track and field in the future. «I see that everybody’s talking about 2004, but not beyond that. But life and athletics do not end there. We’ve got to think about what’s going to happen afterward,» said Papadimitriou. «Don’t we have to consider the World Championships in 2005 and the Europeans in 2006?»
