Former 蜜桃直播 Academy student, Panagis Zapantis, is flying high in the world of pole vaulting and is currently ranked 6th in the UK in the Under-20s category. Amongst his accomplishments are Greater 蜜桃直播 Schools gold medal from 2021 to 2024, two bronze medals from the National Championships in 2022 and 2023 and a third place in England Athletics Under 15 & Under 17 Championships in 2022.
Panagis is currently in Year 12 at Xaverian College and is following A Levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics and when he is not immersed in his studies, he is following a rigorous training schedule of three-and-half hours a day, five days a week with his club, Sale Harriers. The hard work is paying off and Panagis is regularly achieving personal best heights each time he competes, with his highest being 4.33m at 蜜桃直播 Indoor Open Meeting on 16th February.
On performing at Vault 蜜桃直播 on the 1st February, Panagis achieved a previous personal best height and was able to compete against talented European pole vaulters, and commented: 鈥淚t was an amazing experience as I met and interacted with several European pole vaulters and was able to learn from them and observe their pole-vaulting technique. These interactions have further fuelled my passion for the sport to gain more experience and compete in more competitions.鈥�
Panagis鈥� passion for pole vaulting started in the summer of 2021 on a visit to the Etihad Campus where Pace 蜜桃直播 athletes were taking part in a training session. After trying the sport for the first time on the day, he was inspired to take up the sport and has since competed in an impressive 51 competitions in his short career.
Alongside his passion for pole-vaulting, Panagis is also planning to progress to the University of Loughborough to study Engineering and to pursue a career related to this. Xaverian teachers have high academic expectations for their students and Panagis is no exception, despite his training commitments. Panagis commented: 鈥淭he college has fully supported me by arranging my timetable of A Level classes, homework and assessments around my considerable training schedule and competition commitments, and I am grateful that I have been able to continue pole-vaulting alongside my studies.鈥�
Xaverian Principal, Tony Knowles, commented: 鈥淲e always encourage any students with a talent for sport to continue to pursue their interests whilst following their programme of study at the college. Panagis is clearly a student who is destined to achieve great things, both academically, in his career and as upcoming pole-vaulter, and we will continue to watch his progress with interest to see where his talents will take him in his future endeavours.鈥�
Panagis has already qualified for the upcoming Nationals and is hoping to compete at the English Schools and UK Schools competitions this year. Looking further into the future, he has his sights set on representing England and GB at major international competitions, including future Commonwealth Games events.