Year 10 student Irene Makantasis might have only come to Australia seven months ago, but the Greek national is powering through her rowing heats and picking up very impressive titles.
She has already achieved six first place awards in both Victoria and NSW, and recently managed to win the NSW championship double scull under 17s.
The South Oakleigh College student says she was most proud of that win because it came out of months of practise and hard work.
“I’m most proud of the NSW state double scull award because it was 40 teams and we managed to come first,” she says.
“I didn’t expect to be that good in Australia.”
Irene began rowing in Greece after she started high school, choosing the sport after finishing up with swimming.
“My friend told me about rowing and I thought I should give it a shot,” she says.
“I really liked rowing because it was very different and actually quite difficult.”
Moving to Australia, Irene was a little worried she might not be able to continue, but thanks to South Oakleigh’s well-established rowing squad, she was able to climb the ranks quickly.
In fact, rowing became the perfect way to introduce herself to her peers and create friends.
“It was tough changing schools,” she admits.
“But rowing helped me settle into school, it broke the ice. I made friends, I had to test my English skills.”
As she progresses in the sport and comes up to the business end of school, Irene is considering taking up rowing as a career.
“My dream is to represent Australia in the Olympics,” she says confidently.
Best of luck Irene.