Antonis Tsapatakis

tsapatakis-poolParalympian and world champion swimmer Antonis Tsapatakis has won numerous sporting titles and has set athletic records at national, European and international levels.

His life was changed in 2006 by a motorcycling accident that lost him the use of his legs; he was only 19 years old and a student at the Police Academy. Despite this, Tsapatakis has never allowed his quadriplegia to stop him from accomplishing anything – even for a moment. He drew his strength and courage from the love of the people around him during this struggle of a lifetime and has been an inspiration to us all.

Tsapatakis was born and raised in Chania, Crete. He started swimming at a very young age; besides the training tank, he also loves to swim in the seas surrounding Greece. He says that he is entranced by the beneficial effects of water on humankind – both physical and mental.
As an athlete, Tsapatakis has never been a smoker and is upset by the litter damage caused by irresponsibly-disposed of cigarette butts on the beaches. Around the world, inappropriately discarded cigarette butts make up the highest proportion of all the litter that is collected by beach clean-up volunteers each year!

tsapatakis (1)Tsapatakis has made his promise for Clean Seas:

“I promise to remind everyone that apart from harming your health, smoking also harms the marine environment and to ask people not to drop their cigarette butts on the beach. Will you join me?”