Striving for a record
For the first time in history, Cypriot athletes came home from the Paralympics with medals. Antonis Aresti won two. We speak to him
Antonis Aresti is no ordinary athlete. The 25-year-old from Limassol became the first Cypriot, male or female, to win a Track and Field medal at a Paralympic Games.
And he didn’t come home with one but two silver medals, in the 200 and 400 metres.
Considering he has three severed nerves in his left arm, that’s a pretty amazing achievement. “I was hit by a car when I was three years old as I was crossing the road,” he told seven.
The Paralympics in Beijing were a special occasion for Aresti. “I felt extremely proud to represent my country at such a global event and everything was so exciting,” he said. “As soon as I walked into the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium, the hairs all over my body stood on end and I forgot all about my anxieties as the 92,000 capacity crowd made me feel so good.”
Aresti clocked 22.15 seconds for the 200m and 48.87, a new European record, in the 400m. Heath Francis of Australia took gold in both events, in world record times of 21.74 and 47.69 respectively. Francis also won gold in the 100m. To put this into perspective, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won the Olympic 200m title in a world record time of 19.30 seconds and LaShawn Merritt the 400m in 43.75.
“Everybody’s ultimate aim is to win a gold medal and I knew I was capable of reaching the finals of my events. From there, anything is possible,” Aresti said.
“When I returned to Cyprus, everybody was really emotional and happy at what I had achieved and it was unbelievable.”
President Christofias himself sent Aresti a personal telegram following his 200m success and wished him luck in the 400m.
When Cyprus’ Paralympians returned home from China, they received a hero’s welcome. Swimmer Karolina Pelendritou won a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke and a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley.
Undersecretary to the President, Titos Christofides describeed the athletes’ performances as, “some of the greatest in the history of Cyprus sport as our small island has managed to secure a good position in the medals table.” Cyprus finished 44th out of 76 countries in the final standings.
Aresti, who has dedicated his medals to his four-month old son Alexandros, seriously got into athletics at the age of 14. “I have always really loved running as it makes me feel good and healthy,” he explained.
“When I was a kid, I would run anywhere – in roads, fields, mountains and on the beach. In the beginning, I would run long distances but then began to concentrate on the 200 and 400m.” His hero is American track legend Michael Johnson.
Aresti competed in able-bodied competitions both locally and abroad for the Cyprus national team before the National Guard slowed down his progress at the age of 18.
“It was a really hard time for me,” he said. “I asked the government to support me so I could continue my training but they were very unhelpful. They went as far as saying that people with disabilities couldn’t become proper athletes.
“In the end I didn’t train properly for two years and lost a lot of my speed. As soon as I was discharged, I put everything back into it, but it took a while for me to get to the level that I was previously at.”
Aresti, who studied sports science in Bulgaria, now trains eight hours a day, six times a week, at both the Tsirion and GSP athletics tracks. His regime includes running, gym work, physiotherapy, massage and a special diet.
“Training kind of takes over, but inside me I know that it’s my life and I have to do it. If I don’t train, I don’t feel well.”
However, he added that training on the island can be difficult. “There is a big difference from other countries as we do not receive much funding.
“The authorities look at disabled athletes with contempt and Track and Field is not high on their list of priorities.” Aresti is a full-time professional athlete, relying on funds from other sources to survive, although now he has a child he says he may have to give up running if the government cannot offer more support.
He has however, learnt to live with his disability. “Day-to-day life is not really affected and I can do most things an able-bodied person can do,” he said. “Obviously though, I cannot lift anything heavy with my left arm.”
He also took the opportunity to thank his trainer Efthymios Kyprianou. “We have known each other since we were both five years old and without him, I would not have enjoyed the success that I have had,” Aresti said.
“I am constantly striving to improve and my goal is to break the 200m and 400m world records. With hard work, anything is possible. You must be 150 per cent dedicated and not listen to anybody criticising or trying to bring you down.
“If all goes well, I will be at the London Olympics in 2012 and hope to win gold.”
