Paralympian Nikos Papagelis spoke at the seminar of the red and white schools about the benefits of sports

Nikos Papagelis attended the seminar of the Schools of Olympiakos, held at “G. Karaiskakis”.

The former athlete soccer player at the network school in Eleonas and current Paralympian in cycling, took the floor and spoke about the support of the “red and white” family in his serious health problem, but also about what sports has offered him.

“Sports and football were my life and that motivated me to overcome the problem I had with cancer, to be able to go back to football. Football gave me enormous strength in difficult times to try to be I want to say a huge thank you, because at that time I had a lot of support from the whole Olympiakos family and me and my brothers.

It was a great strength for me to know that I am not alone in all this, that I had support. The actions you took then gave me courage and hope to return to sports and football. Life had other plans for me. After the first diagnosis I was diagnosed with cancer again and the only solution was the amputation of my left leg.

But sport was my life, I looked for something new. I found cycling, the most difficult sport I could choose with one leg. With my hard work, perseverance and patience, I have managed in these 10 years to participate in two Paralympic games, the last one in Paris where I came fourth and second in the European competition.

But the big goal is gold at the Los Angeles Olympics. I would like to tell everyone that sports can save lives. We are not only looking at the championship and professional players. Sports is the greatest school there is”said the 25-year-old athlete.