Nov 5, 2026 | General, Track & Field
Anastasia Kyvelidou aspired to compete for Greece in the heptathlon during the 2004 Olympics.
A severe ankle injury right before the Olympic trials derailed that plan. But Kyvelidou took an optimistic view of that situation.
"I feel like when one door closes, a window opens," she said.
That window of opportunity brought Kyvelidou to Omaha, where she excelled as an athlete and as a student. A national champion for the Mavericks on the track, Kyvelidou will be one of four individuals inducted into the Omaha Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 6.
"It's a great honor for me. I'm going to be among so many wonderful people also being inducted," Kyvelidou said. "It helped make me who I am today in my life because sports and my athletic career really helped me focus and identify my goals and discipline."
Kyvelidou is from a small town in Greece, but she found her way to Omaha because her boyfriend, who is now her husband, was working on his Master's degree at Omaha. He also was a volunteer coach for the Maverick track team, so Kyvelidou became a Maverick in 2004.
And in 2005, she turned in a dominant track season. She won the NCAA Division II indoor triple jump title, then in the spring she claimed the national heptathlon title with 5,780 points. That point total still ranks among the top 20 in Division II history. Always a versatile athlete, Kyvelidou felt everything came together for her senior year.
"I felt more free, more secure. We had great coaches. I felt the environment was so good for me to excel in track and academically, as well," said Kyvelidou, who set most of her personal-best marks in individual events in 2005. "I was trying to be a better version of myself."
Kyvelidou, who also holds the school record in the javelin, turned her attention to academics after that. While she went on to earn her PhD, Kyvelidou became an assistant professor at Omaha and currently is an associate professor in the physical therapy department at Creighton's Phoenix campus.
"UNO has a really special place in my heart," she said.
Kyvelidou and her family had lived most of the past 20 years in Omaha before moving to Phoenix over the summer. The family includes three daughters, ages 17, 13 and 7, who also are athletically inclined. In 2025 as a high school freshman, oldest daughter Zoe was an undefeated state tennis champion at No. 1 singles for Gretna East.
A severe ankle injury right before the Olympic trials derailed that plan. But Kyvelidou took an optimistic view of that situation.
"I feel like when one door closes, a window opens," she said.
That window of opportunity brought Kyvelidou to Omaha, where she excelled as an athlete and as a student. A national champion for the Mavericks on the track, Kyvelidou will be one of four individuals inducted into the Omaha Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 6.
"It's a great honor for me. I'm going to be among so many wonderful people also being inducted," Kyvelidou said. "It helped make me who I am today in my life because sports and my athletic career really helped me focus and identify my goals and discipline."
Kyvelidou is from a small town in Greece, but she found her way to Omaha because her boyfriend, who is now her husband, was working on his Master's degree at Omaha. He also was a volunteer coach for the Maverick track team, so Kyvelidou became a Maverick in 2004.
And in 2005, she turned in a dominant track season. She won the NCAA Division II indoor triple jump title, then in the spring she claimed the national heptathlon title with 5,780 points. That point total still ranks among the top 20 in Division II history. Always a versatile athlete, Kyvelidou felt everything came together for her senior year.
"I felt more free, more secure. We had great coaches. I felt the environment was so good for me to excel in track and academically, as well," said Kyvelidou, who set most of her personal-best marks in individual events in 2005. "I was trying to be a better version of myself."
Kyvelidou, who also holds the school record in the javelin, turned her attention to academics after that. While she went on to earn her PhD, Kyvelidou became an assistant professor at Omaha and currently is an associate professor in the physical therapy department at Creighton's Phoenix campus.
"UNO has a really special place in my heart," she said.
Kyvelidou and her family had lived most of the past 20 years in Omaha before moving to Phoenix over the summer. The family includes three daughters, ages 17, 13 and 7, who also are athletically inclined. In 2025 as a high school freshman, oldest daughter Zoe was an undefeated state tennis champion at No. 1 singles for Gretna East.
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