Popular tradition wants the prophet Elijah to leave the sea and take the mountains with an oar in order to be away from the liquid element, from which he was in danger of drowning. However, Greek sport has an almost similar history. Bronze Olympic rowing champion Kristina Yazizidou left the wet track that brought her fame and headed to the mountains to continue her collection of awards.

The “bronze girl” of Greek rowing was not in danger of drowning on any water surface. Instead, rowing, he entered the international sports arena. Together with Alexandra Tsiavu, they performed at the World and European Championships, and in 2012 they climbed to the third place of the podium at the Olympic Games in London.. But where she felt like she was… drowning was when she ended her rowing career and was away from the sport for a while.

Christina Yazizidou was born near Lake Kastoria. In these waters he learned to row, and after long labors managed to master it. When she “hung up” the paddle of the championship, she took up running, and since the championship was … in her blood, she quickly stood out and began to collect first places in the all-Greek mountain road championships. Our champion completed her rowing career at the age of 24, after which she decided to start a family. But when for a man sports songs are like the song of Odysseus’ sirens, it’s hard to ignore this call.

“After I gave birth, I felt the need to start training again. I have always loved running. Even when I was rowing, it was my favorite workout. So I slowly began to take part in competitions. I saw that it made me feel good and I started exercising more regularly. In Kastoria, many people do mountain running, so they persuaded me to do it too. When I took part in the race and saw that without special training I could go first, I realized that it suits me,” the 33-year-old athlete told kathimerini.gr.

In love with nature

Nature is the favorite playground of the former athlete of the Kastorian Naval Club. Whether she is in the wet or in the mountains, she enjoys the weather, the scents of nature and, in general, lives the moments with all her senses. In fact, the phrase that expresses this is: “In love with nature.” When mountain running entered her life, one of her first big successes was winning the Olympian Marathon in 2021. “It was my first time taking part in this special race and I managed to stand out. I really liked the match,” the champion told us.

The good physical shape she got from rowing also helped her in her new competitive track. A valuable asset to the new career was and still is a man who knows very well what it means to race on the road and especially on difficult surfaces: track and field champion Dimitris Theodorakakos. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my coach and friend Dimitris Theodorakakos. To my family for their support in this endeavor and to my sponsors Salomon Hellas and Suunto.”

Distinction in the “Olympic Marathon” brought athletics into the life of Christina Gazitsidou. Along the way, the joy of participation turned into … the joy of the championship. And so began her second sports career. In April 2022, he took part in the Panhellenic Mountain Road Championship held in Deskatis Greven. She covered 20.5 km and was the first to cut the “thread”, leaving behind experienced athletes of classical sports. This year he took part in the 30 km race, and there were two trophies from the Panhellenic Championship. “I don’t have any special requirements. I try to do it as correctly as possible. I don’t aim for anything specific. I want to thank you for participating in every match I take part in,” he told us.

Christina’s son is four years old. What he doesn’t know yet is that his mother was one of the greatest Greek rowers. But he sees her running and coming home with the medals he loves to play with. “He tells us that when he grows up, he will become a running champion,” the champion said with a laugh, and when we asked her about her immediate goals, she replied: “I will take part in the Olympic Marathon, and in early June at the world championships. Last year I participated in the European. I did it purely for experience. What I want is to be healthy and enjoy every race I enter.”

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