‘A top athlete who was given nothing, a competitor who lifted Greece to the top of Europe through hard work, perseverance and exhausting training, found herself in the stadium without her personal coach, Brent Vallance. She was left alone while other athletes had their own coaches with them,’ SYRIZA MP Elena Akrita said in a post.

‘I came without a coach. I will wait for them to answer the questions I have, because although I came having qualified in two events, with a wild card, I do not know why my coach is not here. I am sorry about that, and I am sorry about what may follow. I am very sad. It completely distracted me from my race. It made me angry. I am waiting for answers from those responsible, from those who decided, from the competition organisers, that my coach should not be here,’ Drisbioti said.

Akrita’s post

‘No, we are not letting this pass.

‘We, the MPs of SYRIZA, are bringing to Parliament Antigoni Drisbioti’s complaint that SEGAS sent her to Birmingham without a coach.

‘A top athlete who was given nothing, a competitor who lifted Greece to the top of Europe through hard work, perseverance and exhausting training, found herself in the stadium without her personal coach, Brent Vallance. She was left alone while other athletes had their own coaches with them.

‘Who decided that Drisbioti was not entitled to what other athletes were entitled to? By what criteria? And why?

‘Our athletes are not pawns in internal games and power balances. SEGAS owes answers, without buts or asterisks.

‘We are not letting this pass.’

SYRIZA’s parliamentary question

To the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports

Subject: Questions regarding the unequal treatment of Antigoni Drisbioti by SEGAS and the absence of her personal coach from the European Championships in Birmingham

Antigoni Drisbioti is one of Greece’s most important athletes of recent years, with major international distinctions and a long record in race walking. SEGAS itself lists Australian coach Brent Vallance as her personal coach, with whom she has worked since 2023.

However, at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the Greek champion competed without her personal coach present, something about which she publicly expressed both surprise and dissatisfaction. SEGAS’s response that Greek athletes received coaching and medical support from federation and associate coaches does not answer the crucial question: why was the coach responsible for this athlete’s day-to-day preparation absent from this particular competition?

The issue is even more significant because, according to reports, other athletes in the Greek delegation were accompanied by their personal coaches, while Drisbioti, despite her record of major achievements and her participation as defending European champion, did not receive equivalent support. This difference in treatment raises reasonable questions about the criteria applied and, above all, whether those criteria were applied equally to all athletes.

Because the equal and objective treatment of athletes cannot be optional or depend on the internal power balances of a federation.

Because the state must ensure that athletes representing the country at major international competitions are supported according to transparent and uniform criteria, and that personal or administrative disagreements do not affect their preparation or the support they receive.

The Minister is asked:

  1. Why did Antigoni Drisbioti, despite SEGAS itself recognising Brent Vallance as her personal coach, not receive the same personal coaching support that other athletes received at the competition?
  2. What are SEGAS’s official criteria for selecting the personal coaches who accompany athletes to major international competitions? Were the same criteria applied to every athlete on the Greek team?
  3. Has the Ministry examined whether the athlete was subjected to unequal or discriminatory treatment regarding her coaching support and, if so, does it intend to request documented information from SEGAS concerning the absence of her personal coach in Birmingham and the criteria used to select the Greek team’s coaches?

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