Antonis Aresti

Antonis Aresti is a former athlete and Paralympian from Cyprus who competed mainly in category T46 and T47 sprint events.

Antonis Aresti
Aresti at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
Nationality Cyprus
Born (1983-02-15) February 15, 1983
Limassol, Cyprus
Sport
SportRunning
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100m T46: 11.08

200m T46: 22.01

400m T46: 48.51
Medal record
Representing  Cyprus
Men's Athletics
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place2008 Beijing200m T46
Silver medal – second place2008 Beijing400m T46
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2011 Christchurch200m T46
Gold medal – first place2011 Christchurch400m T46
Bronze medal – third place2006 Assen400m T46
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 Stadskanaal200m T46
Gold medal – first place2012 Stadskanaal400m T46
Silver medal – second place2012 Stadskanaal100m T46
Bronze medal – third place2016 Grosseto400m T46

He competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There he won a silver medal in the men's 200 metres – T46 event and a silver medal in the men's 400 metres – T46 event

Career

Born on 15 February 1983 in Limassol, Cyprus by Leonidas and Androula Aresti. At the age of three years, Aresti was dragged by a moving car while he was trying to cross the street. The accident caused a damage on his left hand. Such disability pushed the Cypriot sprinter to deal with sports.[1]

He started practising athletics at early age by participating in school events mainly in long-distance races. At age 14 he started running seriously.[2] Then, he won many medals in local youth championships in athletics. Also, he participated in world organisations as a member of the national team of Cyprus.[3]

He studied Physical Education at National Sports Academy (NSA) of Bulgaria in Sofia and graduated in 2008. His coach is Efthymios Kyprianou.

Antonis Aresti after the 400m T46 final race for the London 2012 Paralympics
Aresti training for the London 2012 Paralympics
Antonis Aresti crossing the finish line of the 400m T46 qualifying race for the London 2012 Paralympics
Antonis Aresti and his coach, Euthymios Kyprianou, after training for the London 2012 Paralympics

World and European Championships

Aresti's first big worldwide success occurred during his participation at the Athletics World Championship for athletes with disabilities in Assen, Netherlands in 2006, where he won the bronze medal in the men's 400 meters category T46. The second worldwide success of the Cypriot runner, occurred in 2007 during his participation at the Athletics World Championships organised by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) in Taipei, Taiwan where he won the silver medal in the men's 200 meters category T46.

In January 2011, Aresti participated in the Athletics World Championship for athletes with disabilities in Christchurch of New Zealand. He won two gold medals at the finals of the events: Men's 200 meters category T46 and Men's 400 meters category T46 with times of 22.25 seconds and 49.44 seconds respectively.

Additionally, the Cypriot champion athlete conquered three more medals in the 2012 European Championships organised by the International Paralympic Committee in June 2012 in Stadskanaal. Specifically, he won the gold medal in men's 400 meters category T46 with a time of 50.55 seconds, the gold in the men's 200 meters category T46 with a time of 22.58 seconds and a silver medal in men's 100 meters category T46 with a time of 11.36 seconds.[4]

After three years of absence from the land of the track due to injuries, Aresti returns to world athletic events in 2015. In June 2015, Aresti participated in the Hellenic Championship for Disabled Athletes and secured the limit for his participation in the Athletics World Championship for athletes with disabilities organized in Doha, Qatar in October 2015 by the International Paralympic Committee in category T47.

In June 2016, the Cypriot champion athlete participated in 2016 European Championships organised by the International Paralympic Committee in Grosseto, Italy. Aresti won his 4th medal in European level.

Competition Venue Position Medal Event Time
2006 IPC Athletics World Championships Netherlands Assen, Netherlands 3rd Bronze 400m T46 50.24 [5]
2007 IWAS Athletics World Championship Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan 2nd Silver 200m T46
2011 IPC Athletics World Championships New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand 1st Gold 200m Τ46 22.25 [6]
2011 IPC Athletics World Championships New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand 1st Gold 400m T46 49.44 [7]
2012 IPC Athletics European Championships Netherlands Stadskanaal, Netherlands 1st Gold 400m T46 50.55 [8]
2012 IPC Athletics European Championships Netherlands Stadskanaal, Netherlands 1st Gold 200m T46 22.58 [9]
2012 IPC Athletics European Championships Netherlands Stadskanaal, Netherlands 2nd Silver 100m T46 11.36 [10]
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships Qatar Doha, Qatar 7th 400 m Τ47 50.55 [11]
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships Qatar Doha, Qatar 6th 200 m Τ47 22.72 [12]
2016 IPC Athletics European Championships Italy Grosseto, Italy 2nd Silver 400 m Τ47 50.44 [13]
2016 IPC Athletics European Championships Italy Grosseto, Italy 4th 200 m Τ47 23.20 [14]
2016 IPC Athletics European Championships Italy Grosseto, Italy 5th 100 m Τ47 11.75 [15]

Participation in Paralympic Games

Aresti participated at the 13th Summer Paralympic Games held in Beijing in September 2008. His participation was a great moment for both his career and the history of Cypriot sport since he managed to win two silver medals in the Men's 200m T46 and Men's 400m T46 with times of 22.15 seconds [16] and 48.87 seconds [17] respectively.

During the 14th Summer Paralympic Games held in London in 2012, the Cypriot sprinter participated and finished fourth in the finals of men's 200m category T46 and men's 400m category T46 with times 22.40 seconds [18] and 49.59 seconds [19] respectively. Also, he participated in the men's 100m race category T46 with time 11.36 [20] but did not qualify for the final race of the event.

Aresti secured participation in the 15th Summer Paralympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro in September 2016.

Competition Venue Position Medal Event Time
2008 Summer Paralympics China Beijing, China 2nd Bronze 200m T46 22.15
2008 Summer Paralympics China Beijing, China 2nd Bronze 400m T46 48.87
2012 Summer Paralympics United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 4th 200m T46 22.40 [21] RR
2012 Summer Paralympics United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 4th 400m T46 49.59 [22] SB
2012 Summer Paralympics United Kingdom London, United Kingdom nq 100m T46 11.36

Personal Bests
Date Competition Event Venue Time
July 30, 2011 Stoke Mandeville Disability Athletics Challenge 100m T46 United Kingdom Stoke Μandeville, United Kingdom 11.08 [23]
Athletics Pancyprian Championship 200m T46 Cyprus Nicosia, Cyprus 22.01
Athletics Bulgarian Championship 400m T46 Bulgaria Sofia, Bulgaria 48.51

Other Participation
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2009 International Athletics Meeting Greece Thessaloniki, Greece 8th 200 m 22.69 [24]
2010 International Athletics Meeting Greece Thessaloniki, Greece 5th 400 m 48.71
year International Athletics Meeting Italy city, Italy 1st 200 m T46 22.60
year International Athletics Meeting Italy city, Italy 1st 400 m T46 49.50
2011 Stoke Mandeville Disability Athletics Challenge United Kingdom Stoke Μandeville, United Kingdom 100 m T46 11.08 [25] PB
2011 Stoke Mandeville Disability Athletics Challenge United Kingdom Stoke Μandeville, United Kingdom 200 m T46 22.70

References
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  2. "Athlete Bio". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  3. "Αντώνης Αρέστη: Δριμύ κατηγορώ από το «ασημένιο βέλος". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  4. "Αναχωρεί η κυπριακή αποστολή για τους Παραολυμπιακούς Αγώνες - Λονδίνο 2012". Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
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  23. http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=49648%5B%5D
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