Kyriakos Tamboukari: Olympian of hope! (INTERVIEW)

Kyriakos Tampoukaris is 20 years old and comes from Frenaros. His life was not easy, since from the beginning he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The doctors did not give him any hope and stressed that he would have a very difficult life. However, Kyriakos, with the love of his family and the power of his soul, denied the doctors and in fact this year he won a gold medal with his team at the World Winter Special Olympics 2017.

By Diamantos Anastasiou

For Kyriakos it was a big step to travel alone to a foreign country, with children he did not know and teachers he had never met. However, with the encouragement of his own people and his gym teacher, he decided to board the plane for Austria, for the purpose of these races. Of course, he did not face any problems, since he is very sociable and he got along with everyone from the beginning.

Although in this case Kyriakos had his doubts, he generally loves traveling and has been to many countries such as Malta, Poland, Sweden, Greece and of course to Austria. He also enjoys gymnastics, which is why he combined them on his recent trip to Graz, Austria, where the games took place. There, after a shocking match, the floorball team in which Kyriakos participated won the first place and won the gold medal.

Kyriakos came back excited and proud of his team's victory, excited by the new experiences he gained and continues his daily life. He spends several hours at the Apostolos Barnabas Special School in Liopetri, while his afternoons are always full, with gymnastics, electronic games and television. On the weekends, he follows his favorite Anorthosis faithfully on the field and does not accept to be disturbed when he watches football on TV. Everyone in his village knows him, since he loves to go to his father's cafe and talk for hours with his fellow villagers, serving them their coffee.

A big thank you to Kyriakos's sister, Chrystalla Tampoukari for the willingness and help
Diamanto Anastasiou 
Sotiranews.com