The first 10 candidates of Yiannis Nikolaos for the restart at SEGAS

We’re counting down to the election on YOU which are held on September 29 in Athens and Yannis Nikolaoucandidate for president & head of the “Restart in Greek athletics” initiative, today announced the first 10 candidates who will contest with him for election to the oldest and largest sports federation in Greece.

THE Yannis Nikolaou after many years of service at the World Athletics Federation alongside Sebastian Coe, but also the varied charity work through the international organization No Finish Line International, responding to the call made to him six months ago by people from the associations, coaches and athletes, he accepted the challenge and took the initiative to form a new team with the aim of moving forward together in a Restart of Greek athletics.

In this first ten candidates of the “Restart”, a great sensation, which also shows the dynamics of Yannis Nikolaos, is caused by the presence of three founding members of SEGAS and one of the most historic sports associations in Greece, the National General Assembly of Athens, which comes down with a candidate for its general secretary Apostolos Bekirakis, of the Panionios General Assembly of Smyrna, which is running with vice-president Alkisti Bozovits, of the Amarousi General Assembly, which is running with the former athlete, coach and sports executive Christina Galanopoulou, as well as distinguished personalities commonly accepted in the sports field, such as the well-known journalist of ERT Nikos Tsonis, the economist-legal director of the Ministry of Finance (recently retired) Thodoros Makryniotis, as well as the former athlete of Herakles, director and education consultant of Thessaloniki Andreas Mavridis.

With a purely athletic approach, knowledge and plan, but above all with a vision, a unifying attitude and a supra-party character, the “Restart in Greek athletics” with Yiannis Nikolaou as first among equals, has been embraced by the great majority of SEGAS unions, who seem to want more than anything else a renewal in the field and a new proposal from people who know, want and can develop a federation that has been suffering for years following the same operating model as the known pathogens.

Referring to the first 10 candidates he announced, Yiannis Nikolaou emphasized:

“After an open process lasting three months where we traveled all over Greece, listening to proposals and presenting our positions and vision for Greek athletics, many representatives of associations made themselves available to us and today we reached the point of proudly proceeding with the announcement of the first ten names that only temporally precede others that will follow in the next 24 hours.

As you will see, it is an ideally balanced mix of young and experienced executives of the sports movement, all of them with diverse occupations and projects, the vast majority of whom come from the grassroots, manage unions and their presence clearly gives the mark of the desired Restart that we all envision for Greek athletics”



THE FIRST 10 CANDIDATES OF THE RESTART

1. Christina Galanopoulou (member of the Amarousi General Assembly): “With a willingness to offer and a common vision, I am joining forces with Yannis Nikolaou as president of SEGAS, a man with a great international career in sports and many years of service in the World Athletics Federation, who uniquely combines knowledge with experience and love for Greek athletics inside and outside the country’s borders. Together with unity, dialogue and collective effort, let’s give a new dynamic to Greek athletics”

2. Athanasia Kampyli (Chairman of the Board of Directors of AGE Pyrgos): “It is the first time that unions far from the center like us, feel that with the election of Yannis Nikolaos, the president of SEGAS will be close to us to manage together the issues faced by unions, coaches and athletes. The air of renewal, immediacy, authenticity and reliability that Yiannis Nikolaou exudes perfectly expresses us and I am very happy to join this effort for a Restart in Greek athletics, which we must support in order to create something better for the our space and our children.”

3. Ioannis Katsaras (Chairman of the Board of Directors of AS Orion Karditsa): “I am actively participating in the initiative for a Restart in Greek athletics and I support Yannis Nikolaou for president, an excellent connoisseur and visionary, who can develop the field. His fresh ideas – his influences from the European meter, find fertile ground in a multitude of people who have been tested either at the collective level or at the higher levels of the federation and combine experience and an insatiable thirst for contribution. Those of us who want to see our classic sport escape from the gears of regression, let’s stand by it by supporting its tireless actions.”

4. Theodoros Makryniotis (Chairman of the Board of Directors of AO Pefkis): “The candidacy of Yannis Nikolaos for the presidency of SEGAS in itself is a jewel for Greek sports. A man with a great career, know-how and contribution to the field of sports, he brought a new air with his own direct way of communication and approach, which perfectly expresses the whole of the associations and I consider it an honor to participate in this wonderful initiative for Restart in Greek athletics. From the first moment, I made myself available to the team and I remain at the forefront to shape together a better operating model for the federation.”

5. Andreas Mavridis (member of SFS Deucalion Thessaloniki): “My whole life is dedicated to sports, first as an athlete of Herakles, then as head of education in Thessaloniki and until today as an amateur runner with many participations in marathons. Thessaloniki supports one of its own children, Yiannis Nikolaou, the only one who can make a restart in Greek athletics, because he has integrity, knowledge, experience, ability and above all he has the will. I am actively involved in this effort and I invite all friends of athletics to fight together and support this beautiful initiative. We love what we do and we are one big family that the time has come to unite with Yiannis Nikolaou for the common good.”



6. Apostolos Bekirakis (General Secretary of the Board of the National General Assembly of Athens): “With a sense of responsibility at a time when our federation will determine its present and future, believing that there is no time and space for experimentation, representing the historic NATIONAL GG, I too join a movement of unions with a sole focus on sports, supporting the candidacy of YIANNI NIKOLAOU for president of SEGAS based on three main pillars:

1) has been serving athletics for almost 40 years

2) is the president of a sports association

3) he knows the Greek and global reality by offering his services to the World Athletics Federation for a number of years alongside the president of Sebastian COE”.

7.Alkistis Bozovich (vice-president of the Board of Panionios GS Smyrni): “Understanding the special weight and what the historian Panionios means to Greek athletics and knowing very well the vision that Yannis Nikolaou has for SEGAS, a man who knows and can transform Greek sports for the better thanks to his unique knowledge, acquaintances and experiences he has from the World Federation, I participate as a candidate for the Board of Directors and I support with all my strength the candidacy of Yiannis Nikolaos for the presidency of SEGAS, at a time when our space is in great need of such a clean and wholesome presence .”

8. Dimitrios Skapetis (member & director of athletics GAS Livadeia): “Having dedicated my whole life to athletics, making championships as an athlete but also as a coach, I felt great satisfaction that a person appeared from the athletics family with a real desire and ability to unite the field, but also with the necessary knowledge to create a more effective and efficient model for Greek athletics. I personally stand by him ready to offer wherever and however needed.”

9. Anastasios Terzopoulos (member of the Board of Directors & director of athletics SKA Drama): “The restart in Greek athletics is necessary and is imposed, represented by a man with vision and integrity such as Yiannis Nikolaou, a man with a strong sense of responsibility and deep knowledge of Greek athletics, having at the same time served for many years in the World Federation. I completely identify with the Restart initiative and participate as a candidate together with Yiannis Nikolaou.”

10. Nikolaos Tsonis (general secretary of the board of GAS Ilisos): “Athletics needs for its president a man who grew up in it and never missed its actions.

Inspired people can judge the difference of his candidacy and lead the athletics to bright future.

With constant struggles for the youth of our associations in their difficult work for this social good called sports, I also participate in this effort together with Yiannis Nikolaou and the excellent candidates of Relaunch”.