Although having lost her first contest, it is a smiling Emmanouela that we met. "It was very exciting to enter the stadium this morning. It's my first participation in the Games and obviously I was a little nervous, but I'm really happy to be here.
This first fight was hard; no, it was very hard. It was impressive to hear this crowd. I tried to concentrate on my judo and despite a little anxiety, I'm happy with what I was able to do despite the defeat."
The question may seem trivial but it is important when you consider that Efstathios, Emmanouela's coach, is himself blind. So, how do you then give precise instructions to your athletes? "It's quite simple actually. We train together. So I know Emmanouela's judo by heart, I can feel things. Added to that, I have competition experience myself, I was an athlete before. I participated in the Paralympic Games in 2004. I can feel the mistakes she can make and correct them."
Being a coach is totally different from being an athlete but Emmanouela and Efstathios have a perfect connection with each other. To help them in their task, there is Evangelos. Officially, he is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades for the delegation. He takes care of the medical part, but not only that. He plays an important part in all the logistics, such as accommodation and transport. This morning he was the eyes of Emmanouela and Efstathios.
"I was sitting right behind Efstathios, on the coach's chair, and I was communicating all the information necessary for a good understanding of the fight. In a way, I was describing the contest, giving time indications and other details related to the course of the contest."
"It's important that Evangelos is there to tell me where I am, for example, and what time is on the scoreboard" explains Emmanouela.
If since this morning we were attending an individual tournament, more than ever para-judo shows how important teamwork is in our sport. Emmanouela did not just participate, she gave the best of herself and to do so she had to rely on Efstathios' knowledge and Evangelos' ability to communicate. This is real teamwork.