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An 87-year-old Greek windsurfer who believes that “age is just a number” has broken all records for her age in the popular sport.
In 2019, at 81 years of age, Anastasia Gerolymatou had her name added to the Guinness Book of Records after sailing from Skala, Kefalonia, to Kyllini, located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
She crossed the eighteen nautical miles of the Ionian Sea on her windsurfer in a nonstop trip of just six hours, having dreamed of this moment for forty years. Now she has done it again—although, this time, it’s a shorter distance.
Last year, she realized with the help of the Municipality of Argostoli, Kefalonia, another dream of hers. She crossed the Ionian Sea, starting from Koroni Beach and ending at Agios Nikolaos, Zakynthos, a route of 11 nautical miles.
In speaking to Greek Reporter following her achievement in 2019 she revealed:
“I started windsurfing when I was 41 years old. I was on a three-week vacation with my second husband and my two children so we could get to know each other better.
On the day before we were scheduled to leave, I saw a young man windsurfing and I was fascinated by it. I walked down the beach to the man who was renting windsurfers and persuaded him to rent me one. That was my first experience.”
Gerolymatou added, “Naturally, it was very difficult, as it was on the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was strong and I didn’t know how to get back, but I managed. We were in Las Palmas, one of Spain’s Canary Islands. I managed to buy my windsurfer later. I am self-taught.”
Gerolymatou left the Ionian island of Kefalonia and didn’t return until 22 years later. She went to Athens, lived there for four years, and then left Greece in 1958 to live in Switzerland.
Gerolymatou says it pains her to be far away from Kefalonia, so she returns whenever possible, sporadically throughout the year, especially in the summer, since she and her family also have a home there.
The lean, beautifully-toned octogenarian said that, in Kefalonia, she needs “to tend to the garden and can also surf. It’s fantastic riding the waves with the wind.”
She also pointed out that windsurfing is a sport that doesn’t pollute the sea in any way, as opposed to almost all other boating activities. She is against oil exploration in the Ionian Sea and pointed out to the Greek Reporter that “there are various other energy sources; we can use solar energy, wind energy. If we use these alternatives, everything will be much better.”
The Greek windsurfer explained, “I am afraid that all the rocks and the beaches will become black from the tar. And the wings of the birds will be covered with oil which cannot be cleaned. That would be devastating.
“And what about the fish, the seals and all the other animals that live in the sea? What will happen to them? I find this very frightening,” she adds.
The 87-year-old also expressed concern about Greece’s younger generation. “We had problems when we were young too, but the way things are now is very bad. Most young people are uninsured and work for a very small amount of money. How can they live, let alone pick up a sport? Most are in despair.”
However, she advised them to “never give up, and always look forward. There is always a path that one can follow. I also went through tough times when I was young. My first marriage fell apart, but I made it through. I would look to see what other people were doing so I could learn,” she added.
The world record-holding athlete from Kefalonia also has three grandchildren, who she says were her main incentive to do what she has done in the world of windsurfing.
“I did it so my grandchildren can remember me for what I accomplished,” she said with pride.
Gerolymatou wants to keep windsurfing for as long as she is strong enough to do so. She watches what she eats and keeps herself busy by doing the things she loves for which she has a passion.
Despite that, as she told the Greek Reporter, “I am not interested in breaking any other world records.”
