Ioannis Kalandaridis (GRE)

Rising Star – August 2017 

In 2016 Ioannis Kalandaridis became a junior European and World Champion when he raced at the 2016 World Rowing Junior Championships and the European Rowing Junior Championships – both times in the men’s pair. Kalandaridis then moved on to racing at the senior and under-23 level and at just 19 years old making it to the b-final of the men’s single sculls at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Kalandaridis calls this the result he is the most proud of. World Rowing expects to see a lot more of Kalandaridis in the coming years.

I discovered rowing… accidentally, when I was looking for a sport other than football. I was disappointed by the football team that I belonged to and when I discovered rowing I was thrilled.

If I was not rowing, my sport would be… a team sport like football, as well as biking due to its speed and intensity.

What keeps me rowing is… my love for this sport and the pleasure I get when my goals are accomplished.

The result I am most proud of so far is… my second place in the b-final at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships recently in Plovdiv.

I like rowing in the men’s single sculls because… I am absolutely responsible for the results of my effort, bad or good and single scull looks to be the toughest rowing event.

My goal in rowing is…. to become better every next day

On the indoor rowing machine, my best score so far is… 06’03”

My most difficult race so far was…  the b-final at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships  in Plovdiv because i was feeling extremely tired and the competition level was very high. 

My sporting hero is… Valent Sinkovic because we have almost the same body and he manages to be among the best rowers in the world.

What motivates me most is… my passion for rowing and the strong will to reach my goal every time.

My non-rowing friends think that rowing is… a quite interesting sport, with specific demands and long training. It needs dedication and focus but it does not really get the recognition it deserves.

I balance… university work and presently I’m serving in the army with training well planned to fit it and  frankly there are no further activities I could get involved at the present.

My biggest strength is… my family.

A weakness I would prefer not having… is the lack of optimism, not always but sometimes.

In my fridge you will always find…  milk!

If I could have dinner with any three people in the world these would be… 1. Rob Waddell, 2. Valent Sinkovic, 3. Eric Murray

The best things in life right now… are the people standing by my side that i love as much as they love me.