[:el]Georgios-Ioannis Tsianos is the only person in history that managed to accomplish the three feats he set his mind into. Climbed the highest mountain of the world, Mount Everest, swam the English Channel while making the best time ever recorded at that year and completed the Marathon des Sables, one of the hardest marathons in the Sahara desert.
The World Open Water Association has included Georgios on the list of the Greatest Watermen in the History of Open Water Swimming
Born in 1976 in Athens, Tsianos began his education in Greece and completed his high-school studies in Florida, US. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and got his Master’s degree in Human Physiology under Extreme Environments at King’s College London. Then he started his Ph.D. in researching and specializing in Human Medical Physiology in the Cold and at High Altitude.
Once he finished, he returned to Greece to study Medicine and worked in the fields of General and Trauma Surgery, Accident and Emergency Medicine and General Practice. He chose to have his practice in a hospital in South Africa in one of the most impoverished areas of the planet, Baragwaneth.
With the support of the Opwall Trust, they created the Ice Water Fire project. The goal was simple. Surpass the Ice (Mount Everest), Water (English Channel) and Fire (Marathon des Sables). All considered to be the hardest challenges of the world.
Tsianos involvement in sports from an early age. He started swimming in the age of 9 and quickly sports became his way of life. In 2000 he managed to swim across the English Channel with the best world-wide time that year of 9 hours and 20 minutes and still holds the fastest Greek performance till present.
Apart from swimming, Tsianos is one of the highest distinguished mountaineers in Greece. He started mountaineering in Fuji volcano of Japan and followed many more as Rocky Mountains, the Atlas Mountains, the European Alps, the Highlands and most of the Greek peaks.
In 2004 he was part of a Greek mountaineering mission “HellasEverest 2004” as a scientific advisor and in charge of providing first aid. He became the first Greek mountaineer of Mount Everest from the North and dangerous course of Tibet. There he managed the raise the Greek Flag on the so-called Top of the World, in 29.029 feet high.
Once asked how he felt on top of Everest he said: “There I felt how small we people are, along with the calmness and serenity for making it to the top“
In 2011, starting on the southern part of Peloponnesus, in Greece, he swam non-stop till the shores of Crete covering the astonishing distance of 62,76 miles and became the first person in history that managed to swim the open Aegean Sea.
In an interview about that feat, he said: “When at last I stepped on the sharp rocks of Cape of Kissamos, my legs were torn and bloody”
Looking for his next feat, Tsianos found it in the Sahara desert. There was the Marathon des Sables. It is considered as one of the hardest marathons of the world as it is a 6 day race, 250 km where the athlete needs to carry without external support all his gear and food till the finish line. On April of 2015 he successfully completed the race.
Talking about his achievement, Georgios-Ioannis Tsianos commented: “What a privilege it is to be the first person in history to have achieved the Ice Water Fire challenge; the personal stories and experiences along the way, are simply invaluable. The Marathon des Sables turned out to be a rollercoaster of an event during which I had to get through adversity to get to the finish, and by doing so I proudly carried with me the Opwall Trust’s environmental message”
Having completed the Ice Water Fire project, Tsianos has now new plans in designing a project of medical nature to be implemented in Greece. He is already examining the conditions and the sponsors needed.[:]