A distance of 52 nautical miles or 95 kilometers from the coast of Volos to the port of Skopelos, at the height of the Town Hall of the island, will attempt to row across the Olympic rowing champion, Nikos Skiathitis. The route will be non-stop with the well-known Olympic champion setting a double goal: On the one hand, to encourage young students to get involved in rowing and sport in general, and on the other hand, to pave the way for the institutionalization of long-distance rowing races in Greece.
The initiative belongs to Nikos Skiathitis and is undertaken on the occasion of the Panhellenic School Sports Day, which is celebrated on Monday 3 October.
As he describes himself to TACHYDROMO, he will row the 52 nautical mile distance in one breath, without stops, only on board to replenish his body fluids. «I believe that if the weather conditions are good, I will be able to complete the route in 16 hours. Otherwise, if the weather is bad, I have set a dead line of 24 hours,» he notes. Under no circumstances, however, will he attempt to paddle the route if the winds at sea are blowing at more than seven Beaufort. «I don't want anyone to be in danger, neither myself nor those accompanying me».
Mr Skiathitis will be followed by the representative of the Special Forces Club of Magnesia, Vassilis Iliopoulos, who will even record the entire rowing effort of the Olympic rower. With him will be Aliki Nikopoulou, who will take care of the nutritional part. It is planned that every half an hour to an hour he will make a short stop at the sea to drink energy drinks and replenish the required glucose in his body in order to be able to continue.
It will not be the first time that Nikos Skiathitis will attempt to row a long distance. The first time he did it on behalf of «Floga» covering a distance of 110 km, making the round of Pagasitikos in 15 hours.
In 2018, he had travelled a distance of 325 km from Volos to Schinias, in three days with an overnight stay on board.
For his new project he has the support of the NOB-Arganauts, the Municipality of Skopelos and the National Olympic Academy and it takes place on the occasion of the Panhellenic Day of School Sports. Before the big challenge he will be with other top athletes in schools, from which he has been invited to talk about his sport and encourage students to get involved in sports. «With this particular effort, however, I seek to open a new path in rowing in Greece, with the institutionalisation of long-distance rowing, something that is widespread abroad. For example, every year there is the Atlantic crossing with rowers from all over the world rowing a distance of 3,000 miles,’ he says.
