Local Greek athletes made up the vast majority of the field, with a few foreign athletes managing to squeeze the event during their holiday.

The race was one of the toughest in Europe: 1200m of ascent on the bike course, with a record 40 degrees celsius temperature noted at the highest point. The run was 3 loops of 7km with 40m of ascent on each loop, no wind and 36 degrees celsius under the hot sun...!

The finish times reflect the above difficulties with only 3 athletes managing a sub 5hr finish time.

First to finish is Dimitris Kassimis in 4:39:32 having done the whole race in the lead. Dimitris wins a spot to Antwerp ½ Ironman on 25th July, let’s see how he will perform over a flat course with much more reasonable temperatures! 
On his heels throughout the race was 23 years-old Panagiotis Christidoulopoulos who kept up throughout the swim and bike, but un-hooked at the run and finishes 3mn behind Kassimis in 4:42:47.

On the women’s field, Loukia Loukopoulou scored 10th place overall with a finish time of 5:22:01, well ahead of her opponents. Loukia is a World Class amateur in Duathlon, having participated in many world championships of Duathlon. It was her first try at a ½ Iron Triathlon and she delivered a great performance.

The race took place in Astros (Peloponesos) 2hrs drive away from Athens Airport. The beauty of the Bay where the swim took place, the amazing landscapes of the coastal road of the bike made up (almost!) for the difficult level of the race imposed by the combination of uphills and high temperatures.

The organisers are pleased to see a very successful first event for the «Astroman» and are looking forward to next year. We will post videos and pictures and will work to attract a more international field next year, having a successful 1st race to build on!

Keep up your training.

Sportively yours,

The Schiniathlon Organisation Team