Areti Athanasopoulou ( gr, Αρετή Αθανασοπούλου; born November 17, 1977) is a Greek taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's featherweight category. She claimed a gold medal in the 59-kg class at the

2003 World Taekwondo Championships The 2003 World Taekwondo Championships are the 16th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany from September 24 to September 28, 2003. A total of 830 athletes, 502 males and 328 females, from 1 ...

in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and represented her nation Greece in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). Throughout her sporting career, Athanasopoulou trained as a member of taekwondo squad for AS Vyronas Athinaikos in her native Athens, under head coach and master Apostolos Iakovakis. Athanasopoulou made her official debut at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where she competed in the women's 57-kg class. She opened her match with a more convincing victory over Egypt's Shimaa Afifi by a marginal judging decision, before losing the quarterfinal to her Dutch opponent Virginia Lourens with a score of 6–8. In 2003, Athanasopoulou improved her feat from the Olympics to capture the women's featherweight title over Mexico's

Iridia Salazar Iridia Salazar Blanco (born June 14, 1982) is a Mexican taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she received a bronze medal in the 57 kg class.

on the referee's decision at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Athanasopoulou's gold medal victory sealed her place on the Greek team, as her country hosted the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. When her native Athens hosted the

, Athanasopoulou emerged as one of the crowd favorites among the Greek athletes in the women's featherweight class (57 kg), following her notable triumph from the World Championships a year earlier. In front of the raucous home crowd inside Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex, Athanasopoulou suffered a shocking defeat to Thailand's

Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen ( th, นุชจรินทร์ สุขคงดำเนิน; born February 10, 1978 in Bangkok) is a Thai taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's featherweight category. She claimed the silver med ...

upon the referee's decision, after their opening match ended in a 6–6 draw. She later filed an appeal to the judges about the decision, but her protest to the score was immediately denied. Unable to deal with her painful defeat, Athanasopoulou admitted tearfully: "From what I saw, the difference in the score was 3 or 4 points in my favor, I'm so disappointed that I can barely hold my tears."

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* 1977 births Living people Greek female taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Greece Taekwondo practitioners at the 2000 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Athens World Taekwondo Championships medalists {{Greece-taekwondo-bio-stub