In this episode
Nikitas Kallitsis, 23, is completing International and European Studies at the University of Macedonia and has done triathlon since 2022 after years of mountain biking.
The conversation covers his first TRIMAN, halves in Plataria, Poland and Navarino, and Istanbul. It also explores his participation in a European age-group event and what he gained from it.
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Detailed show notes
Family, MTB and a break
He is 23, has submitted a dissertation on far-right parties in the European Parliament and graduates in May. His family does mountain biking, skiing and ski touring; he has skied since three without racing. He briefly tried taekwondo and tennis.
At fourteen, in his second year of secondary school, he joined Velos. In his first year, he trained with Kostas Georgiadis, as he names him, during the latter’s final year in Greece. He raced MTB seriously until his final school year, then studied for university entrance exams and spent a year enjoying student life without sport.
Triathlon with no swimming background
His father does triathlon with Mr Christos. In 2019, they did exercise tests together without discussing triathlon. In February 2022, back in ski touring, he began training; in March, he asked to join the sport. He had never swum.
At a 1 May camp, 750 m in the pool left him red-faced. After three swims, he raced a sprint in Katerini: 22–23 minutes in the water, unable to use the aerobars and a respectable run. His coach told him not to set distant goals during the first three years.
Progressing over middle distance
His third race, three months into the sport, was his first Olympic distance. His first half was the national championship in Plataria; he remembers the bike as a nightmare. He has done around four halves. At TRIMAN before Poland, stomach trouble made him consider stopping from kilometre six.
In Poland, he had his best 70.3 but did not qualify; he describes timing and results as a fiasco. At Navarino, George reads 4:28 and 14th overall; he earned a Nice slot. His Katerini target is a national-championship podium and racing to his own numbers.
Frequent swimming and a borrowed bike
He swims five days out of seven, 1.5–2 km, with tests and fins. He rarely runs 21 km; long runs are around 14–15, visualising the race. Cycling includes quality on Tuesdays and Fridays and a 2.5–5-hour long ride. He races on Mr Christos’s bike. For Poland, the handlebar issue with the bike case remained unresolved until the morning of the flight.
He describes Istanbul as a good team experience and mentions “third place”; George interjects with second in his age group. The experience is presented as an important step in his development and motivation for future goals.
Key takeaways
- Swimming began from zero; almost-daily contact with the water matters more than one big weekly set.
- A strong 70.3 is not enough if event problems disrupt qualification; his Navarino slot came on a worse day.
- His next goal is to stay consistently among Greece’s best and pursue distinctions abroad.
- He sees Greek age-group competition as a source of progress rather than toxicity.
