There are not many people that have realized the thrills and experiences offered by the particular natural beauty of our islands. Only a few pioneers are trying to explore these prospects through personal drive and love for their homeland. One of these pioneers was the General Doctor of the island of Poros Mr. Kostis Sapounakis who envisioned, designed and implemented the first X-Poros in 2005. Valuable help and guidance gave Mr. Sapounakis another triathlon pioneer in Greece, Mrs. Marie Leautey. In Greece however, initiatives based on the personal effort of some romantics stop as soon as the priorities of their initiators change. Therefore, X-Poros ceased in 2014, when Mr. Kostis Sapounakis moved to Switzerland for his personal reasons.
X-Poros was not yet another triathlon. It was a challenge, a life experience for those who wanted to meet their personal limits within a beautiful and unique natural environment. It was not for everyone, it was not for many. It was addressed to adventure enthusiasts and those athletes who wanted to dare go beyond their previous encounters so far.
The peculiarity of X-Poros was due to the fact that its sequence of events was different from that of the triathlon. It started with a 2 km swim, followed with a 10 km mountain run in hard to access areas that included climbing and completed by a 50 km mountain bike race. All the terrain of the race was dirt with 1300 meters altitude and required special abilities and skills from the participants.
No one knows if it is the right time for another X-Poros, the ultimate challenge for multisport enthusiasts. No one knows if we are close to the day that other athletes will get the chance to confront the wonderful waters and magical architecture of Poros and win, because all X-Poros participants are winners.
A few words about the X-Poros inspirer, Mr. Konstantinos Sapounakis.
Mr. Konstantinos Sapounakis was born in 1972 in Athens. In 1989 he began his studies at the Medical School of the University of Besançon, France, where he first came into contact with the mountain biking competition. In 2003 he started working at Galatas Poros Health Center. In 2005 he organized the first X-Poros hoping to become an important adventure race in Greece. In 2013 he completed his PhD thesis in Medical Pharmacology at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. From 2014, along with his wife, Mrs. Alexandra Joyce and their daughter Phoebe, he lives and works in Switzerland. Mr Sapounakis has been appointed a medical local representative for the Youth Olympic Winter Games to be held in Lausanne in 2020.
Photo 2012
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