Olympic bronze medalists in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Games 2024, Antonis Papakonstantinou and Petros Gaidatzis, were treated to a standing ovation when they returned to Greece victorious.

Antonis, 25, is a biology student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Petros, 23, is a student at the Department of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

The two Olympians talk to protothema.gr about the experience of their participation in the Olympics, the distinction they won and how they combine athletics at such a high level with their student status.

The French “counter” the Greeks in hospitality

In France, they set foot at least a month before the start of the Olympics in order to train properly and acclimatize. During this time, everything went smoothly, so that the two rowers arrived at the official event prepared both athletically and psychologically.

“The Federation made sure to send us to France for preparation a month before the Olympics, because in Schoenei where we train, it is too windy in the summer and we can’t take the boat out so often. This helped us to get used to the different place. We prepared better in the boat, we improved our times and we also “got up” psychologically , so when we arrived in Paris, we were ready for the games”, says Petros Gaidatzis.

“The French compete us strongly in hospitality. During the preparation, we stayed in a town near Lyon – we trained on the lake. Despite the different impression we had, we found out that they are an excellent people – everywhere they welcomed us with a smile, gave us gifts. In the restaurant, where we ate in the evenings, they posted our results after each race we ran, and brought their little children so that we could all have our pictures taken together on the last day. We went to Paris on 7/21, we stayed 3 days in the Olympic village. We loved it and didn’t have an issue with the cardboard beds as others have said. Of course, we’re not the first boy – the basketball players probably had a problem… But we didn’t stay all the days in the Olympic village because of the distance from the training arena – that’s the reason why we didn’t participate in the opening ceremony,” Antonis Papaconstantinou added.

The experience of participating in the Olympics

“We knew from the start that only the good crews in rowing would be at the Olympics, but we had run in races before. At the start, it was all structured in our minds, we knew exactly what we were going to do and our mental state was also very good. In the preparation we had very good times and when we came out first in the qualifiers, we felt that we were going for something “big”. But after the 1000m, we felt confident”, Antonis notes, while Peter continues: “We knew the crews, our times are very close, we are all the same weight. We were not afraid because we have confidence in each other and in ourselves. All we wanted was to bring out in the race what we brought out in training.”

“In addition, this year, we also changed the lineup: we had Peter in at point guard and I was at point guard, meaning I was back. He sets the rhythm and I have to watch him, put power to keep him from getting tired – to ‘keep him in the air’, as we say, in order to maintain a good rhythm,” Antonis continues.

As for the moments leading up to the award ceremony, Peter recalls with emotion, “In the final, approaching the last few meters, Antonis and I just wanted to finish and go for the medal. We didn’t even think about the fact that we came third, that we missed the silver for a very short time. We were only thinking about our success, we wanted to celebrate. And it’s an incredible feeling to get on the podium and to have your people watching you from the stands, that makes it 1,000 times better: to be able to share it with your people.”

As a reminder, the Greek crew completed the race in 6:13.44 and lost second place to the Italians, who finished in 6:13.33.

Shared training, shared life

The two young Olympians began training together in 2019. In fact, they won a gold medal at the European Championships at that time. Subsequently, Peter took a break to start studying medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and they were reunited in 2022.

“We got along better, we were more mature, we gave each other space, respecting each other’s personal life – we are together at least 300 days a year and we are the only ones who live in the same room in the rowing club’s commune in Schinias,” Antonis Papakonstantinou stresses, who gives the “stigma” of the particularly demanding daily schedule.

“In winter, when the training has more ‘volume’, i.e. less intensity and much more kilometers, it definitely takes an 8-hour day. In summer, the intensity is higher but the duration is about one to two hours less. The workouts are two morning and one afternoon, five times a week. Two days we are limited to only two morning workouts. As for content, we may have a morning boat workout and then, weights. Or we might have an early morning run before the heat sets in, then boat and then boat again in the afternoon – combined with weights or circuit training,” Papaconstantinou says.

The “odyssey” of studying during the championship period

The difficulties of combining athletics with being a student are undoubtedly many. Petros Gaidatzis, a medical student at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, notes: “After a year of training with Antonis in 2019, I stopped to give priority to my school. I never quit training, I just didn’t participate in the national team’s training sessions. Based in Thessaloniki, I dedicated myself to my club, the Kalamaria Yacht Club, and participated in national championships.”

“However, in 2021 I decided to start rowing again, I believed in myself. My goal was to return to the national team and ensure my participation in the Olympics. I had already attended the first three years of the school, I was deferred for another three – since I was based in Skiathos, it was practically impossible to attend the courses. Now, I have already contacted the University to stop the deferment. I will resume classes as normal with the start of the new semester,” Petros Gaidatzis says.

Antonis Papakonstantinou is 25 years old, a biology student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens: “I entered with Panhellenic exams. Taking advantage of the privilege, from the Department of Biological Applications and Technologies in Ioannina, where I was originally admitted, I switched to Biology, because I love nature and animals. Due to intensive training, I had to ‘freeze’ my studies for the first period. In 2020, during the quarantine period, when the telecourses were taking place, I tried to attend the lectures of the school at the same time – I went to practice on the ergometer, the rowing simulator on land that is, wearing the headphones so I wouldn’t miss lectures. In the end, I didn’t have much success (laughs), because I only passed one lesson that semester!”

Remembering his ‘attempt’ to move the ‘lab’ to his room, Antonis Papaconstantinou says the following: “We had an anatomy class in zoology. I took a fish, brought it to the common room, ‘opened’ it up as part of the assignment, but then the place got so dirty that no one would come in…. When the schools opened later, in 2022, I started going to the university to attend only the three labs. I would leave the ropes course right after practice, do the lab at the NSCA, return to the rowing venue for the afternoon practice, but I couldn’t stand to do it for long. Eventually, I decided to dedicate myself to preparing for the Olympics and continue afterwards. I have, however, completed all the workshops from the first two years – at least I have no absences there. I’ll come back in September and try to go through the courses slowly – and to finish with the Worlds, I’m leaving for Canada on Monday,” he concludes.