Eleni Artymata has been on the difficult road of preparation for her presence at the Tokyo Olympics for about a month now. The leading athlete in the history of the Cypriot track and field, from August 25, 2019 has a guaranteed participation, for the 4th consecutive time, in the largest sporting event in the world. At that time, he had run the distance of 400m. at 51.34, at an international meeting in Madrid, a time that redeemed her qualification for Tokyo. Since that day, her attention has been focused on being ready for another great date on her fantastic course in the international track and field.
Her preparation for "Tokyo 2020" was abruptly stopped in March, with the coronavirus pandemic - like all athletes - and so from September she re-entered the process of a new "building" body, capable of bringing her distinction in the Olympics , which will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021. "The first period of preparation is a period of adaptation, with training of general strength for body strengthening, in a gym, sea, stadium. It does not yet include pieces outside the tartan, a pattern that we will continue next month. "The largest and most basic volume of training will take place in South Africa, with more intensity, with bigger pieces and clearly more difficult", said in the press office of KOEA, for the initial stage of its preparation, Eleni Artymata, who is -as he told us- in pretty good condition, normal for this season.
A big goal in 2021 is the distinction in the Tokyo Olympics, wanting to run during the year, faster than her own Cypriot record of 51.14, which she achieved on July 18, 2018 in Belizona, Switzerland. "This year we want to work harder at 400 ari, I mean the training that the race has, with improving endurance at speed, which is our clear goal. We work on this every year, but this year we give even more emphasis, with a lot of work in the big pieces. If all goes well, and with the coronavirus and training, in May we expect to start participating in various races. I want to enter as many races as possible, because the 400 ari needs a lot of races, to find the right tactics and to correct yourself. This is what we will strive for, so that I am ready for the Olympics, hoping that in the process I will be able to improve my record as well ", the holder of the Cypriot record in the 200m told us. (22.61), Eleni Artymata.
The coronavirus pandemic stopped normal life in 2020, with athletes being clearly affected, not only competitively, but also psychologically, by the general uncertainty that exists. For our champion, the first period was quite difficult, but not what we are going through. "When the pandemic started and the Games and the Olympics were postponed, it affected me a lot, because I had lost a big goal. There was this uncertainty about the danger of the coronavirus, the cancellations of big events like the European Championship in Paris and it was not the best thing for my psychology. Now, after living so many months with this disease, and seeing that we are slowly returning to a more normal situation, since there are scheduled games and the Olympics in July, I do not let anything affect me, because it can easily detune me. I concentrate completely on my goal, on my training and I only think about what my coach asks me and nothing else ".
Giannoulakis: "I am impressed by Eleni"
Since 2004 Eleni Artymata is under the orders of Antonis Giannoulakis, who, that year, has led Andri Sialou to the semifinals of the 400m. with obstacles at the Athens Olympics. From the first year of their collaboration, the Paralimnitissa sprinter made sure to show the first signs of her talent, as she became the first Cypriot to win a medal (bronze) in the European Under-20 Championship (11.74, 100m). In 2009 she recorded the highlight of her career, when she became the first (and only so far) Cypriot athlete to participate in a World Championship final, at the 200m in Berlin, finishing from 1st place in 8th place.
Next year (2010), at the European Championships in Barcelona, he occupies the 5th place in the 200m. and 2012 in Helsinki on the 7th, unique and these successes. She is the "big lady" of the Mediterranean Games, with 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals, in all the competitions that represented Cyprus (100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m)! She qualified for 4 consecutive Olympic Games, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020, an achievement that is unique for a Cypriot athlete! Her above successes and several other distinctions in the world and European track and field, came under the guidance of Antonis Giannoulakis. This year, the two of them started for the 17th consecutive year the preparation for the realization of the goals of our champion. With the 51-year-old coach from Hanioti, we talked about the preparation of Eleni Artymata until the Tokyo Olympics:
How is the preparation going so far?
"She is OK. Eleni has made a great impression on me and it seems to me that she can endure physically for several more years. She is much more mature, she handles the training very well, with economy in engineering and she knows exactly what she has to do. Maybe the pandemic interruption helped her to rest, since we did a conservative program, with only 200 arias, knowing that we would not have races in 2020. We took care to change our program, keep our speed at a good level and rest for the next year. We have just released the first cycle of our preparation and I see an Eleni fresh, an Eleni ready for a Cypriot record. I see her physically and she impresses me ".
What does training include at this stage?
"It's general physics training now, based on four pillars, muscle strengthening, with a lot of running, endurance, strength and speed. "Essentially we work our bodies a lot, so that when we go to South Africa, it can accept the pressure of the greatest tensions that the preparation there will have."
Is it something you will pay special attention to?
"We want to push our passages a little. We are working with a specific plan for the first 200 ari to pass quickly, so that we have endurance in strength and speed to get the best time ".
How will you proceed?
"The first stage ends a week before we leave for South Africa, on Sunday, November 22. After the children rest for a while, we will leave on November 28 and for a month we will enter the basic volume of preparation. We will return to Cyprus for the New Year and we will leave again for South Africa for another month, where we will complete the basic stage of preparation. Note that in South Africa things with coronavirus are better than in Europe. We have already been informed about the protocols that will apply and should be followed, being virtually isolated and away from large gatherings of people.
"And because the Olympics are very early, we want Eleni to enter the games at the end of April and the beginning of May, because the 400 ari needs many games to reach the desired level. I believe that there will be several possible games available from a very early stage, so that we can get ready for the Olympics. In April, May and June, the training will be done mainly through the games, gradually reducing the tensions. We have already made Eleni's plan from now until the Olympics. It is enough for everything to go well with the coronavirus and for us to be healthy ".
How much does the pandemic and the uncertainty affect you?
"It certainly affected us a lot in the first period, when all the events were canceled. Now, we said we would go to the stadium to prepare as if all the matches were going to take place. And I feel that they will be done with some necessary measures. What is a little different is the care we give to not have a case. The pandemic does not prevent us from exercising well. The Federation and the stadium authorities played a role in this. "Everything is normal, as long as we are careful with our contacts outside of training".