By Bill Roumeliotis.
Antigoni Drisbioti was born in Karditsa, Greece on March 21, 1984. She is a Greek race walker with important distinctions at the international level, including being European champion in 2022 in the 20 kilometre and 35 kilometre walking races.
She is considered to be one of the best Greek race walkers of all time, having also placed first in the 35km walk at the 2021 European Cup of Pontebrandi, fourth in the 35km walk at the 2022 Oregon World Championships, sixth in the 20km walk at the 2022 Oman World Cup, eight place in the 20km walk at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Antigoni also represented Greece at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she finished 15th.
Currently, Antigoni is in Victoria, Australia to take part in the Chemist Warehouse Australian 20km Race Walk Championships at Fawkner Park in South Yarra. She spoke with The Greek Herald during her visit.
How did you becoming involved in athletics?
I was a very active child since I was little, I wanted to be involved in many things. I did swimming at first, but I was not good at swimming and I decided to do something else to enter the sports world. So I entered athletics and completely by chance one day I walked fast to catch a tennis ball.
Fortunately for me, I was noticed at that moment by coach Thanasis Deligiannis. He noticed my style, my speed and told me I had a future in race walking. This sport didn’t attract me at first. Nevertheless, thanks to Deligiannis’ persistence, I decided to try. A test that ultimately resulted in my being Greek champion two years later.
In Munich you won two Pan-European gold medals in four days. How did this success come about?
With the first gold medal I won, I was coming from fourth place in the 35km walk at the World Championships in Oregon in 2022. 20 days later, I had more confidence in the 35km, which is my main event. So starting the race I knew that I wanted to win. All the athletes knew I was the favourite and they were chasing me. I was leading the race and everything went well. It was my day to win the gold medal.
Four days later, I decided on my own to compete in the 20 km without the encouragement of my family and my coach. I just wanted to compete. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t aim for the medal and felt no stress – a great advantage for an athlete to compete without the pressure of being the favourite.
I realised I could win when, from the beginning, I was constantly in 10th place, walking comfortably and not pushing myself. I knew that I would be in the top seven as I knew that some of the athletes who were leading would not be able to hold on and would be left behind. Then I saw the athletes in the lead were not feeling well, unlike me who had not raced fast at first. After a few kilometres, when I was feeling really good and I saw that the leaders of the group were not pulling too far ahead, I developed more speed and did the best race of my life. I will never forget it because it gave me my second gold medal at the European Athletics Championships.
How do you motivate yourself to never give up despite the challenges you face?
I am one of those people who gets strength from difficulties. There are no obstacles, only an injury can bring me down. At this moment, I have people by my side who support me in every effort, and that is what I need and it strengthens me.
When you are at the start of a long distance race, do you think about how the time will pass?
Indeed, this is how I plan the race in my mind days before. I look at every five kilometres and how I will manage the race because the 20km and 35km’s are long races lasting 1.5 to 3 hours. You have to be very focused.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a girl who works a lot. When I don’t have work, I like to go out with friends. When I’m in Athens, I like to have fun, go out with friends to drink a beer and eat a good meal. When I’m in my hometown of Karditsa, I like to be with my family and do my work.
Do you have a message for the Greek community in Melbourne?
Come down to Fawkner Park in South Yarra to enjoy a sport with a lot of suspense, it will be a very interesting race for me. It is very important as I chase the time that will qualify me for the Olympic Games. I want the Greeks close to me so I can achieve my goal.
