The entirety of a match 5 or 10 km run or finishing a 2.5km open water race is a feat for many of us. Kostas Zemadanis
Think about it you were finishing in the most demanding triathlon of the world, the ironman which includes – consecutively – 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42 km of running.
Are you tired? Imagine doing the same distance for 20 days in a row. Inconceivable. And yet, the super athlete Kostas Zemadanis participated a few days ago in the most difficult triathlon competition of the year that took place in town Buchs of Switzerland.
An ironman for 20 days
This is the world championship Ultra Triathlon, lasting 20 days. Participating ultratriathletes had to complete a ironman triathlon a day for 20 consecutive days.
Every day they swam 3.8 km, cycled 180 km and ran a marathon road of 42 km. If an athlete did not complete the distance of 226 km within the day they were immediately out of the competition.
The race was completed by 6 ultra triathletes successfully covering the total distance of 4520 km (76 km swimming/ 3600 km cycling/ 844 km running), increasing the number of athletes who have completed the Double Deca Ultra Triathlon in just 9 in history.
The feat of Kostas Zemadanis
Among them was Kostas Zemadanis, who after the gold medal in Florida USA (Double Ultra Triathlon-452 km) in March and the silver medal in Austria (Triple Ultra Triathlon-678 km) in July managed to successfully finish in second place with a time of 244:29:50 hours, 8 hours faster than the previous World Record (252:21:16 hours) and 3 hours slower than the first ranked ultra triathlete Norbert Luftenegger (241:36:45 hours).
Rain, cold, fog and hail
The Greek world champion of 2017, from the first day of the race stood out, together with the Austrian athlete, with whom they fought hand-to-hand every day, having to face the very difficult weather conditions (rain, cold, fog, hail, increased humidity, but also days with a temperature above 30 degrees), with the continuous and abrupt changes.
Konos experienced mechanical problems on the bike on days 1the , 17the , 19the, while physically he had the hardest day on the 18ththe and better on the 16ththe. It is typical that the second ten days of the Greek athlete was about 2 hours faster than the first ten days.
The event was much improved compared to 2017 in which Kon/nos had participated in Deca Ultra Triathlon (10 days duration), taking first place with the third fastest time in history (115:54 hours).
Without the support of its sponsors, it would not have been possible to represent Greece in this competition. For this reason, he warmly thanks the HELLENIC HEMATOLOGICAL SOCIETY (E.A.E.), which stood by him from the beginning of the competition year, covering every need of a financial nature. Also, the GOLDEN GUIDE PRINT & ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SA, the company CUBITECH SECURITY SYSTEMS SA and personally Mr. Nikolaos Kalafatis and the physical therapy center "PHYSIOKINESIS" Rio Patras and personally Mr. Betsos Theodoros.
In addition, IDEAL BIKES MANIATOPOULOS which for one more racing year fully covered the large logistical needs of cycling equipment.
The message of volunteering
As a sports ambassador of the University of Patras Bone Marrow Donor Information and Attraction Center (KEDMOP), "Give Life", Kon/nos expresses his deep satisfaction to bring the message of volunteering beyond the borders.
Special mention and thanks should also be given to his companion Panagoulias Kon/nos Professor of Physical Education, who supported the Greek athlete for 20 consecutive days, now forming a duo that has completed 3 races so far Deca Ultra Triathlon, 2 matches (2014, 2017), Triple Ultra Triathlon (2014, 2017) and the Double Deca Ultra Triathlon (2019).
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