GENTLE. National team volleyball player Iina Andrikopoulou treads the beach path near the center of Lempäälä and gazes through the October grayness to Kirkkojärvi. On the north side of the lake, behind the forest, the Hakkar sports hall looms, where Lempo-Volley, represented by Andrikopoulou, plays its home games at the second highest league level in Finland.
Finno-Greek Andrikopoulou could not have even imagined in the spring that he would spend his October afternoon on the beach of Pirkanmaa town as a player of the 1st league team.
The career had progressed upward in a few years from LP Vampula’s promise to become the top team LP Viest’s point guard. Andrikopoulou had not only scored points in the domestic league, but also in the Champions League against the best players in the world, and got the long-dreamed-of contract abroad.
The hacker who won the championship league point exchange had signed a professional contract with the French premier league. The national team also had an even bigger role in the summer EC qualifiers.
The coronavirus infection at the beginning of the spring playoffs changed everything. Andrikopoulou missed the third quarter-final at the end of March due to illness, but returned to the court a week later for the first semi-final against LP Kangasala. The 24-year-old chipper scored 11 points, but all was not well. The symptoms started to appear during the semi-final series.
– My heart was pounding and my heart rate was really high, I felt really weak. Between the balls, you had to take a moment to rest and breathe deeply. For example, I couldn’t really ventilate at all. I told my teammates that I’m really sorry, but I can’t bring energy to the field. If I screamed for a moment, three balls could go completely by, Andrikopoulou times.
– A couple of people have come to say afterwards that being on the field looked a bit like it didn’t make sense.
Violent headaches also affected gaming. Because of them, Andrikopoulou says that she went to the doctor’s office during the bronze matches.
– I didn’t go to the doctor immediately after the corona. I only went when my head started to hurt really bad. Then I got the green light to play, there’s nothing in my head, says the hacker.
After five semi-final games and three bronze medal matches, LP Viest’s season ended in fourth place. Andrikopoulou scored a whopping 28 points in the last game of the season.
Between the end of the domestic main league season and the start of the national team camps, there was a break of more than a month. During that time, Andrikopoulou’s condition began to improve, but the symptoms started again at the camp.
– The biggest symptom was the tightness in the heart. The pulses were quite hard again and I always had a headache after training and sometimes during training as well. The symptoms of exercise-induced asthma had also worsened.
The situation was dealt with quickly. The player was taken to a doctor’s office due to heart problems.
– Even then, I still didn’t believe that there could be anything in the heart, that maybe this is just something passing. Fortunately, I was forced to check it, and then there was a pericarditis, says the Finnish champion of the second season.
– It probably came from the fact that I had returned to sports too quickly after the corona virus.
The realization of dreams gave way to agonizing uncertainty about the future. Andrikopoulou did not play a single minute in the national team’s important EC qualifiers. The contract with the French club was also terminated. According to Andrikopoulou, there were special features in the contract, which he does not want to detail.
– The season had gone well, there was a chance to go abroad and it was possible to play a bigger role in the national team. I would have loved to show. Then the rug was pulled from under the feet and the career didn’t even go up, even though it felt like it was going in a good direction. It was a pretty big drop at that point.
Patience tested
A couple of weeks ago, the first division Lempo-Volley said that they had signed a contract with a national team player. The agreement surprised many, but there are two important reasons behind it. The second is related to rehabilitation. Andrikopoulou has been suspended for two months.
– The condition is really bad at the moment. I thought I could work out whenever my fitness allowed. That’s why I think that the first series is a better option at the moment. I’m not yet in a condition where I could train twice a day, Nakkila’s Paterien family explains.
Things are already a little better for Andikopoulou in Lempäälä. There is no more compression in the heart. The doctors have given the chipper permission to train according to his own strength.
– But my condition is sometimes such that sometimes you notice in the middle of training that your head starts to ache. Sometimes it only hits in the evening: you can’t even get out of bed, when you immediately get a headache, Andrikopoulou describes.
– They are currently the biggest symptoms. The pulses are still high, but the heart is not squeezed. It’s really soothing.
Andrikopoulou has practiced a few times with the team and jogged and visited the weight room. Last weekend, the chipper already returned to series matches, when Lempo-Volley defeated Tapanila Erä 3–1 and rose to the top of the 1 series. Andrikopoulou won’t be able to play a whole game for a while, but a couple of changes on the field were an important mental step.
– At the moment, this requires a lot of patience. Really, no one can tell me what to do and when I’m okay.
Peer support has come from a close friend in the direction of Salo. A former teammate is in a similar situation to Andrikopoulou Anna Czakan. The central defender of the national team and LP Viest your career has been at stake (you move to another service)due to cardiac arrhythmias.
– We have been in contact a lot. I really wouldn’t want anyone to be in this situation. However, it makes it a lot easier to have a friend who knows exactly how you feel. It’s really sad for Anna, but she’s a really big support for me. I also feel that I am of help to Anna at the moment, Andrikopoulou states.
With my beloved in Lempäälä
Important support can also be found at home. Another reason for Andrikopoulou’s first league contract can be found in a two-room apartment in the center of Lempäälä. Captain of Akaa-Volley Panu Pitkänen is Andrikopoulou’s spouse, and in Pirkanmaa they are allowed to live under the same roof. So there is also a bright side in a difficult situation.
– I would not have thought that moving in together would be possible this early. It’s really great to be able to live together at least for a while, Andrikopoulou smiles next to Pitkänen.
– He has been able to support me more than he probably knows. When there are those bad days, there is a voice of reason saying that the situation is not as bad as it is in my head. Panu brings joy to even my sad days.
Pitkäsen himself has not had any health concerns of his own, but the top volleyball player understands the kind of mental abyss one can fall into when the sport is taken away from a professional player who aims high.
– Athletes are basically always in a hurry. It’s important to remember that it’s not next week when you have to train twice a day. The seasons are long, and there are still many ahead, Pitkänen reminds.
In a difficult situation, the support of loved ones is invaluable. Andrikopoulou got sick right after her Lempo-Volley debut, this time with sinusitis. I have had a fever several times during the fall.
– To be honest, sometimes there are days when it’s really dark. Sometimes I completely lose faith. But fortunately there are Panu and Anna and friends around who give me faith, says Andrikopoulou.
Returning to volleyball everyday in Lempo-Volley has brightened Andrikopoulou’s faith in the future. He dreams of getting back in shape and, through that, on foreign fields.
– Now this looks a little better, I have been able to train, even though these fevers have now come. But hopefully they have also been sorted out now, states the national team hacker.
– Every workout where my head doesn’t hurt and I don’t get symptoms is a celebration for me. They are currently taking a lot forward.
Maybe even as far as France.
Read more:
The former postman became a star of Finnish volleyball exceptionally quickly – the newspaper headlines still confuse Iina Andrikopoulou
LP Salo made volleyball history – the top French team went down in the Champions League
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The Finnish coaching wizard conjured an astonishing cinderella story in eight years – this is the secret of Tapio Kangasniemi’s success