Maria NTANOU

Greece

Cross-Country Skiing

Date of Birth: 3 Mar 1990

Age: 31

Gender: Female

Place of birth: VEROIA

Birth Country:

Greece

Residence: NAOUSA, IMATHIA

Residence Country:

Greece

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank
Cross-Country Skiing	Women's 10km Classic	88
	Women's Sprint Free	89
	Women's Team Sprint Classic GRE Greece	23
	Women's 30km Mass Start Free	61

Schedule

Location	Event	Status
Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre	Women's Sprint Free Qualification	Finished
Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre	Women's 10km Classic	Finished
Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre	Women's 30km Mass Start Free	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location
72	10 kilometres, Freestyle	2010	Vancouver, CAN
76	Women's 10 kilometres, Freestyle	2018	PyeongChang, KOR

World Championship
Rank	Event	Year	Location
26	Team Sprint Finals Ladies	2021	Oberstdorf, GER
57	Skiathlon 7.5/7.5km C/F Ladies	2021	Oberstdorf, GER
58	Skiathlon 7.5/7.5km C/F Ladies	2019	Seefeld, AUT
78	SP F Final Ladies	2019	Seefeld, AUT
79	10 km C Ladies	2019	Seefeld, AUT
80	10 km F Ladies	2021	Oberstdorf, GER
82	SP 1.3 km F Final Ladies	2009	Liberec, CZE
84	SP C Final Ladies	2021	Oberstdorf, GER

Best performances per season in World Cup events from 2018/2019 - Individual events until 15km
Season	SP C	SP F	10 km F
2021/2022	1 x 83rd		1 x 87th
2020/2021	1 x 51st		1 x 47th
2018/2019	1 x 56th	1 x 76th	1 x 75th

Ten Best World Cup Performances in Current Season
Rank	Event	Season	Location
83	SP C	2021/2022	Davos, SUI
87	10 km F	2021/2022	Davos, SUI

Hobbies:

Travelling and water sports, such as surfing and wakeboarding. (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Occupation:

Digital Communications Manager at FIE (International Fencing Federation)

Education:

Master's Degree in Economics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Master's in Sport Administration from AISTS, Lausanne, 2014.

Family:

Parents. One younger brother.

Languages spoken:

Greek, English, French

Club name:

EOS Naousas (Naousa, GRE)

Coach:

Nikos Anastasiadis (GRE)

Sporting relatives:

Younger brother (Cross-country skiing).

Debut:

2007 FIS in Jaca (5km - 78th)
2018 World Cup in Oslo (30km - 54th)

Injuries:

2019: Burnout lead to her taking a break as she was struggling to balance sport with work. “I actually suffered from burnout in 2019. I combined sport and work and I came out with fatigue, so I took a break of six months.” (olympics.com)

National team:

2017

Start:

Grew up in the town of Naousa, Imathia, in the north part of Greece next to Thessaloniki, where her hometown has always had a strong tradition in alpine and cross-country skiing. Coaches from the local ski club visited her school when she was 11 where she was already doing gymnastics, volleyball, and athletics. Cross-country skiing was more exciting as a sport so it didn't take long for her to switch. It was close to nature, and the team was always training in different places with a chance to visit many resorts and mountains around Greece. (mariantanou.com; Athlete, Jun 2021)

Ambition:

Achieve personal best at Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Memorable:

The Olympic Winter Games at Vancouver 2010 and PyeongChang 2018 where she had her father, brother and friends cheering for her in the venue. (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Hero:

Mother and father: "They gave me the opportunity to dream, follow my passions and believe in myself." (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Influence:

Family and closest friends. (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Ritual:

"Try to dream a little before you think." (Athlete, Jun 2021)

Philosophy:

Sports are a family, connecting people with the same or similar passions. People who practise sports tend to make the world better with sometimes small gestures every day. (Athlete, Jun 2021)

General Interest

BENEFITING FROM TRAINING WITH OTHERS
For PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, she trained with a small group of French skiers, and for Beijing 2022, she is training with Team Thailand, based in Aosta (ITA).

BIGGEST ASSET
After moving to Lausanne to complete a master’s in sports administration and technology, she began working and found it much harder to find a balance. The solution was effective time management. "When I travel abroad to work now, for example, I completely change my schedule. I train in the morning, check my emails before breakfast, but do most of my work after dinner. In Switzerland, I go to the gym after 6 p.m. and work throughout the day. That’s why I always say time management is the biggest asset in my life." (olympics.com)

DUAL CAREER / SELF-FUNDING
Winter sports don’t get much financial backing in Greece, so working has allowed her to live her dream. "I used my entire salary to pay for travel, coaches, nutritionists, everything. I was completely self-funded and able to travel to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games thanks to my dual career." (olympics.com)

LAUSANNE 2020 YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
Served as Athlete Role Model (ARM) at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games. The ARMs are experienced sportspeople who offer their support and advice to the next generation of athletes during the competition but also organise educational activities and workshops to help development, such as career management, injury prevention, Olympic Solidarity and more. (olympics.com)

Milestones

Best Greek female cross-country skier in Olympic Winter Games history. Qualified for her first Games at Vancouver 2010 at age 19, where she competed in the 10km free, with her second at PyeongChang 2018.

Has represented Greece at four World Championships (2009, 2017-21). Debuted at Liberec in 2009 at age 18 and set her personal best at Oberstdorf in 2021 with 57th in skiathlon. In 2021, she was 26th in the team sprint.

Competed at three Junior World Championships (2008-10) and the 2011 U23 World Championships.

Her best result in the World Cup is 47th in the 10km December 2020 (Davos).

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event

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