‘Literally, this medal is the biggest and heaviest of the seven I have won and metaphorically I say it is because it has everything that I have gone through these twenty years from Athens to Paris, all the upheavals that happened in the last three years and the difficulties I went through in the last month and a half before coming to Paris’ Cypriot Paralympian Karolina Pelendritou said on Monday, adding that ‘since the race ended I have been in a delirium’.
According to a press release, the silver medal which she won on Saturday night, August 31st and received 24 hours later, after the Dutch athlete’s objection prevented the award ceremony from taking place as planned (and ultimately the objection was rejected) is for the 38-year-old swimmer ‘one of the three most important of my career. The others are those of Athens, which was the first, and Tokyo, which was the first gold in 13 years.’
On Sunday evening, September 1, after the award ceremony, a surprise awaited Karolina Pelendritou, as many volunteers w
ho offer their services at La Defense Arena, waited for her outside the swimming pool and set up a small party. The award ceremony was also attended by the Cyprus Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Marilena Evangelou, who congratulated Pelendritou, as well as the Vice President of the Cyprus Sports Organisation, Kalli Hadjiosif.
It is noted that Pelendritou’s coach, Stelios Kakavogiannis, with whom they have been working together since the London 2012 Paralympics, is also very happy.
‘The success in the 50-meter freestyle is a result of the hard work, dedication and passion that Karolina has shown throughout training. It was a goal we set from the beginning and I am very proud of her for achieving it. This award is a testament to our efforts and the tireless work that has been put in,’ Kakavogiannis said, among other things.
Pelendritou has today entered a three-day training cycle in order to be ready on Thursday, September 5 for the qualifying race in the 100m breaststroke where she aims for a place in th
e evening final.
Source: Cyprus News Agency