Giorgos Kantzikis and his dream of a world medal in seated water skiing
At the age of five, he was diagnosed with leukaemia, which led to loss of core support and paralysis of the lower limbs. Today, Giorgos is the only disabled water-ski athlete in Greece. We met him one winter morning in Vouliagmeni, where, between tricks and slalom runs, he spoke to us about his dream of claiming a world medal for his country.
In life, one’s path is shaped by the direction each person chooses to give to their existence. Giorgos Kantzikis, the only active seated water-ski athlete (or seated wakeboarder) in Greece, with an 85% disability, has decided to slalom through fate, not to settle, and to honour Greece with a world medal. What does he need? Financial support, to turn his dream into reality.
Who is the “trickster” Giorgos Kantzikis
Giorgos Kantzikis is the only seated water-ski athlete in Greece. Essentially, this is an adaptation of the sport for people with lower-limb disabilities: the athlete water-skis on a board fitted with a specially adapted seat.
Giorgos began training in the sport in 2018, and in 2019 he became the first Greek athlete to give a demonstration at the Panhellenic Championship. In 2021, he won the second medal at the European Championship of Water Skiing for Athletes with Disabilities, which was held in Agrinio.
At the age of five, Giorgos was diagnosed with leukaemia, which affected his central nervous system, resulting in loss of core support and walking ability, and paralysis of the lower limbs. A neurological dysfunction that did anything but make him give up: a wheelchair user and a driver of a modified car, he stubbornly refuses to resign himself to anything. A restless spirit, with adrenaline flowing through his veins every day, he says “yes” to any challenge that appears before him. “The sea is my greatest love. It gives me motivation and meaning in life,” he says characteristically.
“Immediately after my health issue, I started a rehabilitation programme and little by little sport – and then competitive sport – entered my life. At first, I started with canoeing. Canoeing is a 200-metre sprint, a straight line. A good sport, but it didn’t excite me that much. I wanted something more extreme. They told me, ‘go to the Nautical Club of Vouliagmeni’. I didn’t know how to wakeboard, I was looking into it. At the beginning I used a kitesurf board and a cart seat. It was tragicomic (laughs)! I was drinking the sea, as they say. I never got up. Like Rena Vlachopoulou! We’re talking about surreal scenes of infinite beauty.”
“My dream is to go to a World Championship”
Giorgos tells NouPou how, from being an amateur in the sport, he began to turn professional and find his footing, getting to know the secrets of wakeboarding: “From 2021 I transferred to Lolos ski water sports, where I am to this day – and I will remain there, because the people support me and help me beyond measure. Whatever I have achieved is thanks to these people. My dream is to go to a World Championship – or an international one, depending – and compete with very experienced colleagues from abroad, learn more things and, of course, win a medal of greater reach.”
As a wakeboard athlete, he has raised both the level and the difficulty of his training: “I train intensively and I believe I will succeed. I study tricks, movements and techniques from other colleagues abroad, where the sport is more widespread and there are also the appropriate infrastructures. On cable tracks it’s more difficult. I am optimistic that with a little support from a sponsor or sponsors, I will manage to bring glory to the national emblem and win an international or world medal.”
When asked “What do you need for this to happen?”, Giorgos Kantzikis replies: “I need sponsorship to cover all the expenses for travel, accommodation, transportation, nutrition, etc. I am also preparing to buy a machine called a ‘raul’, which costs 3,000 euros. This will help me become better and do something better for Greece. Abroad it is common for athletes. But here, for Greek standards, it is something entirely new.” For now, he trains daily in Vouliagmeni on the Athens Riviera, with his sights set on the next international championship.
Giorgos Kantzikis does not fail to thank those who already help him: besides Lolos Ski Center, which supports him free of charge, he says that the contribution of the water-sports equipment company Water Motion, based in Voula, is also invaluable, supplying him pro bono with gear such as a board, helmet, ski ropes, wetsuit, swimwear and whatever else he needs.
He does not hide the fact that, through this interview, he hopes other sponsors will come forward to support his effort and help him get closer to his dream, which is none other than bringing home a world medal.