In October 2020, long-distance runner Marios Yannakou and student Eleftheria Tosiou, who has a musculoskeletal problem, set up a “meeting” at the foot of Mount Olympus to conquer the summit together.
Mario and Eleftheria made their dreams come true – to see the world from a bird’s eye view.
Today, their “date” was at the central square of Pella, the starting point of the 16th International Marathon “Alexander the Macedonian”, in order to go together – and with a friend Vasiliki Dikouli – the route to the statue of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki, where the end point is located.
“I used to run 5k and 10k runs, but now I want to run a regular 42k marathon,” explains Athens Macedonian News Agency shortly before the start, biology graduate Eleftheria Tosiu, and Marios Yannaku is already fully prepared for the race.
The motivated young man recently successfully completed the 500-kilometer Lapland Arctic Ultra marathon (beyond the Arctic Circle). He supported his girlfriend without hesitation and helped her complete the route together (on a sled).
As the athlete said after conquering the top of Olympus with Eleftheria, “this is not just the best, most important fight in my life. This is the best thing I have done as a person. I feel the happiest in the world.”
This happiness is reflected in the smiles of both of them, captured in the photo just before the start of the marathon. Supporting each other, walking hand in hand through life, they boldly conquer their personal “tops”.
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