SE: From the Mediterranean to MHK, Romaiou Has Unfinished Business in Big 12
Apr 08, 2021 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Last weekend, Konstantina Romaiou was just like any other K-State fan.
She grew up on island off the coast of Greece and has competed at two NCAA Championships but those were just details at the K-State tennis courts on Saturday.
Like everyone else, Romaiou was trying to will K-State past the Jayhawks.
"Of course, I was there," she said. "After practice, I just ran over to my girls. It was so intense."
K-State Tennis defeated Kansas for the first time since 2014 and Romaiou got to watch some of her best friends in Manhattan celebrate the win.
A super-senior on K-State Track & Field, Romaiou is one of a handful of athletes who came back to Manhattan for another shot at the outdoor track & field season that was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
She was already returning to Manhattan for a fifth year in the classroom. Another shot at the jumping events Romaiou has dominated throughout her career was too good to pass up.
In four years with the Wildcats, Romaiou has a pair of top-five finishes at Big 12s and has competed at two NCAA Championships in the triple jump.
She was wearing purple for the first time in more than a year last week in Wichita, when Romaiou and the Wildcats competed at the Shocker Invitational. She took second in the long jump, competing against a field of 16 athletes from North Dakota State and Wichita State.
"It was fun, and I didn't know Wichita was so close to us," Romaiou said. "But it was so windy, and our teammates couldn't be at the track to cheer, they had to be in a specific area. It's always kind of lonely to compete when nobody is cheering you on."
That might be one of the biggest reasons that Romaiou is back in Manhattan this year – the chance to finally jump in front of a home crowd when K-State hosts the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month.
For Romaiou, and all the super-seniors on K-State Track & Field, that helps keep them going.
"We've been here forever," Romaiou said. "But we're hosting Big 12s this year. It was supposed to be last year, but I wanted that home meet. And I don't want to miss my graduation, which is on the same day."
She's still working out the logistics of how she's going to celebrate her graduation and earn a spot at the NCAA Championships on the same weekend, but don't bet against Romaiou.
She has been balancing her track career with the challenges of international student life since she arrived at Kansas State in 2016. First up? Learning a new language on the fly.
"I understood, but I was afraid to speak," she remembers.
Growing up on the Greek island of Corfu, with dramatic views of the Ionian Sea, Romaiou didn't have much in common with her new classmates when she arrived at K-State.
But that's something she shares in common with many of her teammates, even if most of the international student-athletes on the Wildcats can trace their roots to the Caribbean.
Romaiou said she got to talk with one of the K-State jumpers, Chantoba Bright of Guyana, before she competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time. That mentor role is something she has enjoyed, though Romaiou would rather practice and work out by herself.
It's not an anti-social thing – Romaiou is all about efficiency. She doesn't even work out with music on, but that wasn't exactly her choice.
"They don't allow us to wear headphones on the track because if somebody else is running or throwing they could hurt you," she said. "Imagine if the discus leaves the area. Do you know how many times that thing has come into my sand pit?"
She kept up her training back on Corfu in 2020, when she was home for the first time in almost two years during COVID-19.
All that time away had as much to do with jumping as her major at K-State.
Romaiou is pursuing a career in hospitality management, after growing up surrounded by resorts and hotels on Corfu. She worked at a hotel in Manhattan and a country club in Kansas City last year, learning the skills that she hopes will pay off back in Greece when she graduates.
"Most of the jobs back home are in restaurants and hotels. It's all about tourism," she said. "It was an easy decision because I miss home so much."
Before she's running a Greek island resort on the cover of Condé Nast Traveller, Konstantina Romaiou has some unfinished business in Kansas.
It started in Wichita, but her sights are set on the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan and making her third appearance at the NCAAs, held at the new Hayward Field in Oregon.
"It's the capital of track," she said. "I saw the pictures of the new track and the training room is so nice. I want to go to nationals one more time."
As a super senior, Romaiou knew her last shot at the NCAA Championships would come without many of her friends and teammates who graduated in 2020. She's one of just four European athletes on K-State Track & Field and the only Greek athlete at K-State.
Most of her friends this season are on K-State Tennis, with more student-athletes on their roster from Europe than any other team at K-State, despite having only eight players.
So that's where Romaiou was on Saturday, cheering K-State to one of their biggest wins of the season on the tennis court.
After a podium finish in the triple jump, Romaiou has gotten her senior season off to a perfect start. And the biggest K-State fan from the Greek Isles isn't doing too bad either.
"It was such a nice win for tennis," Romaiou said. "It was a great day to be a Wildcat."
Last weekend, Konstantina Romaiou was just like any other K-State fan.
She grew up on island off the coast of Greece and has competed at two NCAA Championships but those were just details at the K-State tennis courts on Saturday.
Like everyone else, Romaiou was trying to will K-State past the Jayhawks.
"Of course, I was there," she said. "After practice, I just ran over to my girls. It was so intense."
K-State Tennis defeated Kansas for the first time since 2014 and Romaiou got to watch some of her best friends in Manhattan celebrate the win.
A super-senior on K-State Track & Field, Romaiou is one of a handful of athletes who came back to Manhattan for another shot at the outdoor track & field season that was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
She was already returning to Manhattan for a fifth year in the classroom. Another shot at the jumping events Romaiou has dominated throughout her career was too good to pass up.
In four years with the Wildcats, Romaiou has a pair of top-five finishes at Big 12s and has competed at two NCAA Championships in the triple jump.
She was wearing purple for the first time in more than a year last week in Wichita, when Romaiou and the Wildcats competed at the Shocker Invitational. She took second in the long jump, competing against a field of 16 athletes from North Dakota State and Wichita State.
"It was fun, and I didn't know Wichita was so close to us," Romaiou said. "But it was so windy, and our teammates couldn't be at the track to cheer, they had to be in a specific area. It's always kind of lonely to compete when nobody is cheering you on."
That might be one of the biggest reasons that Romaiou is back in Manhattan this year – the chance to finally jump in front of a home crowd when K-State hosts the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships next month.
For Romaiou, and all the super-seniors on K-State Track & Field, that helps keep them going.
"We've been here forever," Romaiou said. "But we're hosting Big 12s this year. It was supposed to be last year, but I wanted that home meet. And I don't want to miss my graduation, which is on the same day."
She's still working out the logistics of how she's going to celebrate her graduation and earn a spot at the NCAA Championships on the same weekend, but don't bet against Romaiou.
She has been balancing her track career with the challenges of international student life since she arrived at Kansas State in 2016. First up? Learning a new language on the fly.
"I understood, but I was afraid to speak," she remembers.
Growing up on the Greek island of Corfu, with dramatic views of the Ionian Sea, Romaiou didn't have much in common with her new classmates when she arrived at K-State.
But that's something she shares in common with many of her teammates, even if most of the international student-athletes on the Wildcats can trace their roots to the Caribbean.
Romaiou said she got to talk with one of the K-State jumpers, Chantoba Bright of Guyana, before she competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time. That mentor role is something she has enjoyed, though Romaiou would rather practice and work out by herself.
It's not an anti-social thing – Romaiou is all about efficiency. She doesn't even work out with music on, but that wasn't exactly her choice.
"They don't allow us to wear headphones on the track because if somebody else is running or throwing they could hurt you," she said. "Imagine if the discus leaves the area. Do you know how many times that thing has come into my sand pit?"
She kept up her training back on Corfu in 2020, when she was home for the first time in almost two years during COVID-19.
All that time away had as much to do with jumping as her major at K-State.
Romaiou is pursuing a career in hospitality management, after growing up surrounded by resorts and hotels on Corfu. She worked at a hotel in Manhattan and a country club in Kansas City last year, learning the skills that she hopes will pay off back in Greece when she graduates.
"Most of the jobs back home are in restaurants and hotels. It's all about tourism," she said. "It was an easy decision because I miss home so much."
Before she's running a Greek island resort on the cover of Condé Nast Traveller, Konstantina Romaiou has some unfinished business in Kansas.
It started in Wichita, but her sights are set on the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan and making her third appearance at the NCAAs, held at the new Hayward Field in Oregon.
"It's the capital of track," she said. "I saw the pictures of the new track and the training room is so nice. I want to go to nationals one more time."
As a super senior, Romaiou knew her last shot at the NCAA Championships would come without many of her friends and teammates who graduated in 2020. She's one of just four European athletes on K-State Track & Field and the only Greek athlete at K-State.
Most of her friends this season are on K-State Tennis, with more student-athletes on their roster from Europe than any other team at K-State, despite having only eight players.
So that's where Romaiou was on Saturday, cheering K-State to one of their biggest wins of the season on the tennis court.
After a podium finish in the triple jump, Romaiou has gotten her senior season off to a perfect start. And the biggest K-State fan from the Greek Isles isn't doing too bad either.
"It was such a nice win for tennis," Romaiou said. "It was a great day to be a Wildcat."
Players Mentioned
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