Byron is windsurfing non-stop ever since he was twelve. He was training and taking part in games in the category of Mistral up until 2004, and after that he got into RS: X , earning many distinctions in between.
Who got you into this sport and which coaches have you had?
It was actually my father, I was twelve and started right away with windsurfing. I enrolled a sailing club, and my coach at the time was Demetris Pilichos; he still is.
What categories are there in windsurf and on which are you racing?
The categories of windsurfing are the following: freestyle, slalom, formula and the one that is part of the Olympics is RS: X; I do the latter .
What do you do in your free time?
I keep windsurfing, though I do freestyle and, sometimes, formula.
Do you do any other sports?
Besides surfing I also do mountain and street biking, which are also part of my training.
What is your daily schedule?
I usually do two trainings a day. That is, biking in the morning and surfing in the afternoon, or vice versa. It also has to do with the period I'm in, whether it's a pre-race or cool down period.
Are you working someplace?
I'm not working, I'm not studying. I'm just windsurfing!
So you can make a living out of windsurfing?
The only source of revenue that you can get out of windsurf in Greece is only by sponsorships and nothing else, because the Greek Sailing Club doesn't provide me with any sort of salary.
What is it that makes you so drawn to this thing?
It's the competition and also the elements of nature, The wind and the waves!
What is the wind and the sea to you?
The sea feels like home to me. Ever since I started. And I could safely call the wind "my best friend".
Who's backing you up in your sporting activities?
The person that is supporting me by sponsoring me the last couple of years is Paris Kasidokostas. Without his back up I wouldn't be able to go through with the 80% of my annual training and racing program! I owe him in a great deal of all the distinctions that I've earned the last couple of years.
Who's backing you up in your sporting activities?
The person that is supporting me by sponsoring me the last couple of years is Paris Kasidokostas. Without his back up I wouldn't be able to go through with the 80% of my annual training and racing program! I owe him a lot on the distinctions that I've earned the last couple of years.
And now tell us briefly about all this fuss that's going over about windsurfing and the Olympic Games. Have things changed at all recently?
After a voting that took place among representatives from 36 countries, windsurfing was chosen to be replaced by kite-surfing. There were 19 votes in favor of kite-surfing, 17 in favor of wind-surfing, concerning the four coming years, up until the Olympic Games of Rio in 2016. This decision caused a big stir in the surfing community throughout the world, because when it comes to the official races there are many issues in kite-surfing –especially safety issues. There is also a facebook page that's advocating the re-inclusion of the sport in the Olympics, under the title "vote for windsurfing for 2016", in which you can vote in favor of windsurfing. There are more than 25000 votes to the moment. The decision for the coming four years is going to be taken in November, in the annual meeting of the I.S.A.F.
Distinctions:
2012 European Championship, 2nd
2011 World Championship, 7th
2011 European Championship, 2nd
2011 Weymouth Preolympic Regatta, 5th
2011 Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia, 4th
2010 European Championship, 2nd
2010 42nd S.O.F Hyeres, 1st
2010 Trofeo S.A.R. Princess Sofia, 1st
2009 World Championship, 5th
2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 Athens Eurolymp Week, 1st
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Byron-Kokkalanis-Windsurfing/326039530788485
Source: http://www.ough.gr
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