Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
has risen to prominence in a number of
sporting areas in recent decades.
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...
winning the
UEFA Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
. Many Greek athletes have also achieved significant success and have won world and olympic titles in numerous sports during the years, such as
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
,
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
,
weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...
, with many of them becoming international stars inside their sports. The successful organisation of the
Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games led also to the further development of many sports and has led to the creation of many world class sport venues all over Greece and especially in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. Greek athletes have won a total 161 medals for Greece in 17 different
Olympic sports
Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an Sports governing body, inter ...
at the
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
, including the
Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
, an achievement which makes Greece one of the top nations globally, in the world's rankings of medals per capital
History of Ancient Greek Sports
The Archaic Age (c. 750–500), especially the sixth century, was the formative age of Greek sport with city-state (polis) formation, colonization, the adoption of money, and other socioeconomic changes. When Archaic Greeks founded new colonies as independent city-states from the Black Sea to Sicily, they took their games with them, and soon they returned to watch or compete at Olympia and other sites. Interactions between dispersed Greeks and the Greek mainland raise interesting questions of ethnicity and status displayed as groups used sport for propaganda and legitimization. Like modern expansion franchises, new city-states abroad established local games to display their ethnic legitimacy, resources, and status, and they competed for prestige as homes of victors, festivals, and patrons of the sport. Sophisticated and broad, Hornblower and Morgan’s volume uses Pindar and other sources to show that athletic prestige was sought by individuals, families, and communities all over the Greek Mediterranean. Essays on regions prominent in Pindar (e.g., Argos, Corinth, Aegina, Thessaly) discuss the influence of local patronage, the regional dimensions of victory odes, and Pindar’s adaptation of local myth-historical imagery. The work also covers Western colonial elites, the tyrants of Sicily, and Greek sport in Hellenistic Egypt and the Roman Empire. 24 Applying New Historicism to Pindar, Nicholson examines the poetics of representation and omission as victors and poets attempted to re-create realities for personal and political ends. Elites and tyrants displayed their wealth and status by personal athletic competition or indirectly via equestrian events in which hired or slave drivers risked injury but the owners claimed the victories. Nicholson argues that socioeconomic changes brought challenges by non-elite citizens in Archaic and Classical Greece, moving anxious aristocrats to minimize the contributions of hired charioteers and jockeys, and paid trainers, in their victory commemorations (odes, dedications, and vases).
Olympic Games
![TableTennisAt2004SummerOlympics-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/TableTennisAt2004SummerOlympics-1.jpg)
Greece was home of the
ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...
, first recorded in 776 BC in
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
, and hosted the modern
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
twice, the inaugural
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
and 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), ...
; the country also hosted the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
, at the time regarded as Olympic Games but not officially recognized by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
today. The nation has competed at every
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
, one of the only four countries to have done so, and most of the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
. During the parade of nations Greece is always called first, as the founding nation of the ancient precursor of modern Olympics, and its national governing body is the
Hellenic Olympic Committee
The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) ( el, Ελληνική Ολυμπιακή Επιτροπή) is the governing Olympic body of Greece. It is the second oldest National Olympic Committee in the world (after the French Olympic Committee), it o ...
.
Having won a total of 116 medals (33 gold, 43 silver and 40 bronze), Greece is ranked 32nd by gold medals in the
all-time Summer Olympic medal count. Their best ever performance was in the 1896 Summer Olympics, when Greece finished second in the
medal table
The Olympic medal table is a method of sorting the medal placements of countries in the modern-day
Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not officially recognize a ranking of participating countries at the Olympic ...
with 10 gold medals, one less than the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the most silver (17) and bronze (19) medals, as well as the most medals overall (46). After a long period of poor tallies, the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
marked an uptum and Greece made successive medal-winning records (excluding the 1896 record) in the three following Olympic Games. Greek athletes have won medals in 15 different sports, but the sports in which the Greek team has won most medals are primarily
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
and
weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...
, as well as other sports like
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
and
shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...
. In the 1906 Games, Greece finished third with 8 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze medals, and second in total behind
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
with 35 medals; these medals are not officially included in the Olympic medal count though.
Winter sport
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...
s have not played a major role in Greece, thus the country has not won any medal in the Winter Olympics so far. Despite that, Greece leads the Parade of Nations also in the Winter Olympics.
Paralympic Games
Paralympic Sports have grown significantly in Greece since the late 1970s. The first participation of athletes with a disability at
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
was in 1976. The organisation of the Paralympic Games in Athens led to significant growth. The Hellenic Team participated in 17 of the 19 sports and won 20 medals (3 Gold, 13 Silver and 4 Bronze). At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games the Greek Team made its most successful appearance ever with 24 medals (5 Gold, 9 Silver and 10 Bronze).
Greece has won in total 80 medals at the
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
, participating only lately.
Athletics
![1912 Konstantinos Tsiklitiras3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/1912_Konstantinos_Tsiklitiras3.JPG)
Athletics has been another very successful individual sport in Greece. Greek athletes have won 29 medals in total, at the Olympic games for Greece and 19 medals in the
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
, while some Greek athletes have reached world stardom with their achievements such as:
*
Fani Chalkia
Fani Chalkia ( el, Φανή Χαλκιά, , born February 2, 1979), also transliterated as Halkia or Khalkia, is a retired Greek hurdler.
Chalkia was born in Larissa, and represented Olympiacos. She won the gold medal in the women's 400m hurdle ...
who won the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
in the
women's 400m hurdles at 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), ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. During the semifinals Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds.
*
Niki Bakoyianni
Niki Bakogianni ( el, Νίκη Μπακογιάννη, , born 9 June 1968) is a retired Greek high jumper. She was born in Lamia.
Biography
She is best known for winning a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics after a tough competition with ...
won a silver medal at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
after a tough competition with
Stefka Kostadinova
Stefka Georgieva Kostadinova ( bg, Стефка Георгиева Костадинова; born March 25, 1965) is a Bulgarian retired athlete who competed in the high jump. Her world record of 2.09 metres has stood since 1987. She was the 1996 ...
. Her personal best jump of 2.03 metres is the current Greek record.
*
Periklis Iakovakis
Periklís Iakovákis ( el, Περικλής Ιακωβάκης, , born 24 March 1979 in Patras) is a retired Greek athlete mainly competing in 400 metres hurdles. He is the Greek record holder with a time of 47.82 seconds and fifteen times nat ...
who won the gold medal at the
World Junior Championships in Annecy, France with 49.82 seconds, and five years later he won the bronze medal at the
2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
Men's results
...
in Paris-Saint-Denis, France. Iakovakis achieved his personal best of 47.82 seconds on 6 May 2006 in Osaka during the IAAF World Athletics Tour. He became
European Champion in Gothenborg, Sweden finishing at 48.46 seconds in the final.
*
Anastasia Kelesidou
Anastasia "Tasoula" Kelesidou ( el, Αναστασία Κελεσίδου, ; born 28 November 1972) is a Greek retired discus thrower best known for winning silver medals at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career she set seven Gre ...
is a retired
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
discus throw
The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...
er best known for winning silver medals at the
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and
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), ...
. During her career she set seven Greek records in discus throw, the best being 67.70 metres.
*
Konstantinos Kenteris
Konstantinos "Kostas" Kenteris, also spelled as Konstadinos "Costas" Kederis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κεντέρης ; born July 11 1973) is a Greek former athlete. He won gold medals in the 200 metres at the 2000 Summer ...
won gold medals in the
200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
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 ...
, the
2001 World Championships in Athletics
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...
and the
2002 European Championships in Athletics
The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.
Men's results
Track
1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 ,
1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was p ...
. Kenteris became the first
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
male to win a 200-meter sprinting medal at the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
since
Pietro Mennea
Pietro Paolo Mennea (; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013), nicknamed ("the Arrow of the South"), was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200m event, winning a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and set a world ...
achieved the feat by winning gold at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. He is one of the very few elite runners who have run the 200m distance under 20 seconds, with a personal best 19.85 sec.
*
Haralabos Papadias
Haralabos Papadias (Χαράλαμπος Παπαδιάς; born 24 January 1975) is a retired Greece, Greek sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres.
He won the gold medal in 60 metres at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 1997 World In ...
won the gold medal in 60 metres at the
1997 World Indoor Championships, in a time of 6.50 seconds (NR),the first and only white man to do so until today.
*
Voula Patoulidou
Paraskevi ("Voula") Patoulidou ( el, Παρασκευή "Βούλα" Πατουλίδου, born 29 March 1965) is a Greek former athlete and politician. Born in Tripotamo (part of Florina prefecture), Patoulidou throughout her athletics career c ...
became a Greek sporting legend in 1992, when she was the surprise winner of the Women's 100 m hurdles race at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
*
Ekaterini Thanou
Ekaterini Thanou ( el, Αικατερίνη Θάνου, ; born 1 February 1975), also known as Katerina Thanou, is a Greek former sprinter. She won numerous medals in the 100 metres, including an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics ...
won the silver medal in the women's
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
. Although
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...
admitted to steroid use prior to and during the Sydney Olympics and had her gold medal withdrawn by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, Thanou's silver medal was not upgraded to gold because she committed a doping offense herself in 2004. In 2002 she won the 100 m gold medal at the European Championships in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
*
Louis Tsatoumas
Louis Tsatoumas ( el, Λούης Τσάτουμας, born 12 February 1982) is a Greek long jumper.
Biography
He won his first major senior medal in 2007 at the European Indoor Athletics Championships, where he claimed the silver medal behind ...
is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
er who on 2 June 2007 in
Kalamata
Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...
jumped 8.66 metres, achieving a personal best. The performance was the best in the world since
Iván Pedroso
Iván Lázaro Pedroso Soler (; born December 17, 1972) is a retired Cuban track and field athlete, who specialized in the long jump, and the current coach of Nelson Évora, Yulimar Rojas and Ana Peleteiro.
Career
Pedroso was born in Havana, C ...
leaped 8.70 m to win the gold medal at the
1995 World Championships. Tsatoumas ranks as the eighth best long jumper in history and holds the
European record in the event at low altitude.
*
Anna Verouli
Anna Verouli ( el, Άννα Βερούλη, born November 13, 1956) is a retired Greek javelin thrower. She was born in Kavala.
She won the gold medal at the 1982 European Athletics Championships, and a bronze medal at the 1983 World Championsh ...
is a retired
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
er who won the gold medal at the
1982 European Championships in Athletics
The 13th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 September to 12 September 1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald.
Men's results
Compl ...
, and a bronze medal at the
1983 World Championships in Athletics
The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983.
Summary
The overall med ...
.
*
Hrysopiyi Devetzi won the triple jump silver medal at 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), ...
with 15.25 and the triple jump bronze medal at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
with 15.23 m. At the 2004 Summer Olympics semifinal she set a Greek record of 15.32 metres. This performance ranks her in the fourth place of all time triple jumpers, after the world record holder,
Inessa Kravets
Inessa Mykolajivna Kravets (née Shulyak, uk, Інеса Миколаївна Кравець; born 5 October 1966) is a Ukrainian former triple jumper and long jumper. She was among the most prominent female triple jumpers during the period that ...
, her greatest rival
Tatyana Lebedeva
Tatyana Romanovna Lebedeva (russian: Татьяна Романовна Лебедева, born 21 July 1976) is a Russian track and field athlete who competes in both the long jump and triple jump events. She is one of the most successful athle ...
and
Françoise Mbango Etone
Françoise Mbango Etone (born 14 April 1976 in Yaoundé) is a Cameroonian-born female track and field athlete. She has competed internationally for France since 2010. While competing for Cameroon, Etone was a 2-time Olympic gold medalist in the ...
.
*
Konstadinos Gatsioudis
Konstadinos Gatsioudis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γκατσιούδης, born 17 December 1973) is a retired Greek track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. His personal best throw of 91.69 m, achieved in 2000, is the Gree ...
is a Greek javelin thrower, set a world junior record in 1990, and eight national records during his career. His personal best throw is 91.69 metres, achieved in June 2000 .
Other notable Greek athletes include
Sofia Sakorafa
Sofia Sakorafa ( el, Σοφία Σακοράφα, born 29 April 1957 in Trikala, Greece) is a Greek-Palestinian politician and former javelin thrower. She was a Member of the European Parliament for Greece as member of the political party MeRA25 ...
who broke the world record on 16 September 1982 with a throw of 74.20 metres.
Lambros Papakostas
Labros Papakostas ( el, Λάμπρος Παπακώστας, born 20 October 1969 in Karditsa) is a retired Greece, Greek high jumper who won two silver medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics, World Indoor Championships ...
a retired
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
er who won two silver medals at the
World Indoor Championships in 1995 and 1997, with a personal best, achieved in Athens in 1992, 2.36 metres.
Konstadinos Filippidis
Konstantinos Filippidis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Φιλιππίδης; born 26 November 1986 in Athens) is a Greek pole vaulter. He won the gold medal at the 2014 World Indoor Championships and the silver medal at the 2017 European Indoor ...
,
Konstadinos Koukodimos,
Christos Papanikolaou
Christos Papanikolaou ( el, Χρήστος Παπανικολάου, born 25 November 1941) is a retired Greek pole vaulter. On 25 October 1970, he set the world record at , significant to Americans as the first man to pole vault 18 feet. He c ...
(who jumped 5.49 metres in Athens to capture the world record in 1970),
Paraskevi Tsiamita
Paraskevi Tsiamita ( el, Παρασκευή Τσιαμίτα, , born March 10, 1972) is a former track and field athlete from Greece who competed in long jump and triple jump. In 1998 she improved her personal best in triple jump by approximately ...
,
Niki Xanthou
Niki Xanthou ( el, Νίκη Ξάνθου, , born 11 October 1973 in Rhodes) is a Greek long jumper.
Xanthou set nine national records in long jump during her career. Her personal best, and national record, is 7.03 metres, achieved in August 199 ...
and
Mirela Manjani
Mirela Maniani ( el, Μιρέλα Μανιάνι, , 21 December 1976) is a Greek retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw.
Life and athletic achievements Albania
Maniani was born as Mirela Manjani on 21 December 1976 in ...
.
Also legends of the past include the legendary
Spyridon Louis
Spyridon Louis ( el, Σπυρίδων Λούης , sometimes transliterated ''Spiridon Loues''; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greek water carrier who won the first modern-day ...
and
Konstantinos Tsiklitiras
Konstantinos "Kostas" Tsiklitiras ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Τσικλητήρας; 30 October 1888 – 10 February 1913) was a Greek athlete and Olympic champion.
Born in Pylos, he moved to Athens in 1905 to study commerce ...
.
Baseball
The
Hellenic Baseball Federation was founded in 1997 in order to prepare a Greece national team for
2004 Athens 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), ...
. In 2000, the
Greek Baseball championship started.
Marousi 2004
Marousi 2004 is a baseball team based in Marousi , Athens.They have won 5 Greek Baseball League titles which makes them the second more successful team in Greece after Spartakos Glyfadas
{{Infobox baseball team
, Name=Spartakos Glyfadas
, Lo ...
and
Spartakos Glyfadas
{{Infobox baseball team
, Name=Spartakos Glyfadas
, Logo=,
, Founded=1979
, Location=Glyfada, Athens Greece
, Stadium=Hellinikon Baseball park
, League=Greek Baseball league
, LeagueChamps=2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
, Color ...
have won the most titles. In 2014, the Greek government decided the abolition of
Hellenic Baseball Federation due to low number of active clubs in this sport.
Basketball
![06012009050 Fedon Mathaiou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/06012009050_Fedon_Mathaiou.jpg)
Greece has a long tradition and history of success in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. Greece was one of the eight founding members of
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
in 1932 and the national governing body is the
Hellenic Basketball Federation
The Hellenic Basketball Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης, abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national ba ...
, member of
FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...
. The
Greece national basketball team
The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...
is considered among the world's top basketball powers; ranked 9th in the
world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. They were the silver medalists of the
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
after beating 101–95 the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
of
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...
,
Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...
,
Chris Bosh
Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bos ...
,
Chris Paul
Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...
,
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team m ...
and
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team me ...
in the tournament's semifinal. They have been crowned
European Champions twice, in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
and
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, and they have also won three more medals at European level, one silver in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and two bronze medals in
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
and
2009 Eurobasket
The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...
. At the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
they have been placed 5th in three occasions. The 1987 gold medal was the first win for a Greece national team in a major tournament in any team sport, thus basketball became extremely popular in Greece after that achievement. The youth national teams of Greece have also enjoyed great success, having been crowned World and European Champions and having won a hatful of medals in all the major World and European tournaments.
The
Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
is the top professional basketball league in Greece and one of the strongest in Europe, while several Greek clubs have won major European titles. In fact, Greek basketball teams are the
most successful in
European basketball the last 25 years, having won as many as 9
Euroleagues since the establishment of the modern era
Euroleague Final Four
The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...
format in 1988, while no other nation has won more than 5 Euroleague championships in this period.
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
was the first-ever Greek team, not only to reach a European Cup Final, but also to win a European title. On 4 April 1968, AEK Athens defeated Slavia Prague by a score of 89-82, in Athens before 80,000 spectators.
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
, six times
European Champions and
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
, three times
European Champions and four times
Euroleague Runners-up, are two of the most successful European clubs and among the top basketball powers in Europe.
Besides the 9 Euroleagues, Greek basketball teams (
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
,
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
,
Aris Thessaloniki
Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...
,
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
,
PAOK,
Maroussi
Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...
) have won 3
Triple Crowns, 5
Saporta Cups, 2
Korać Cups and 1
FIBA Europe Champions Cup
The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level (it was the 3rd-tier level during the inaugural 2002–03 season), transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe. It was run and organized by FIBA Europe. The lea ...
, while all of them - except for Maroussi - have made it to the Euroleague Final Four. In women's basketball,
Athinaikos
Athinaikos A.C. ( el, Αθηναϊκός Α.Σ., full name Athinaikos Athletic Club) is a Greek multisport-club, founded in 1917. It is based in Vyronas, a suburb east of Athens. Athinaikos has football, basketball, and handball teams. Its achiev ...
have won the
EuroCup. A number of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and Greek-born foreign players have gained notability for their achievements such as
Nikos Galis
Nikolaos Georgalis ( el, Νικόλαος Γεωργαλής; born July 23, 1957), commonly known as either Nikos Galis ( el, Νίκος Γκάλης), or Nick Galis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playin ...
, widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest players in international basketball history,
Panagiotis Giannakis
Panagiotis Giannakis ( el, Παναγιώτης Γιαννάκης, ; born January 1, 1959), alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. As a player, he was primarily a poin ...
,
Panagiotis Fasoulas
Panagiotis "Panos" Fasoulas (alternate spelling: Fassoulas; Greek: Παναγιώτης Φασούλας; born May 12, 1963 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek politician and former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round by t ...
,
Fanis Christodoulou
Theofanis "Fanis" Christodoulou ( el, Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Χριστοδούλου; born May 22, 1965) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played mainly at small forward, but his complete all-around skills allowed him t ...
,
Theodoros Papaloukas
Theodoros Papaloukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαλουκάς; born May 8, 1977), commonly known as Theo Papaloukas or Thodoris Papaloukas, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He was a four - time All-EuroLeague selection, a me ...
,
Vassilis Spanoulis
Vassilis "Billy" Spanoulis ( el, Βασίλης Σπανούλης; born 7 August 1982) is a Greek former professional basketball player and current basketball coach for Peristeri of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. S ...
and
Dimitris Diamantidis
Dimitris Diamantidis ( el, Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης ; born May 6, 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player, who spent the last twelve seasons of his EuroLeague career with Panathinaikos, where he last served as the ...
. The Greek players that have played in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
are
Efthimios Rentzias
Efthimios "Efthimis" Rentzias (alternate spellings: Efthymios, Efthymis; Greek: Ευθύμιος "Ευθύμης" Ρεντζιάς; born January 11, 1976) is a retired Greek professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he was most ...
,
Vassilis Spanoulis
Vassilis "Billy" Spanoulis ( el, Βασίλης Σπανούλης; born 7 August 1982) is a Greek former professional basketball player and current basketball coach for Peristeri of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. S ...
,
Antonis Fotsis
Antonis Fotsis (alternate spelling: Antonios, Greek: Αντώνης Φώτσης; born April 1 or 2, 1981) is a Greek professional basketball player for Ilysiakos. He was also the captain of the Greece men's national basketball team. He is a ...
,
Andreas Glyniadakis
Andreas Glyniadakis (alternate spelling: Gliniadakis) (Greek language, Greek: Ανδρέας Γλυνιαδάκης; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played center (basketball), center at a height of tall ...
,
Jake Tsakalidis
Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, ka, იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professional basketball player.
Tsakalidis, a center, holds dual cit ...
,
Kostas Papanikolaou
Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLe ...
,
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
brothers,
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...
and
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Athanasios Rotimi "Thanasis" Antetokounmpo, (born Adetokunbo; July 18, 1992) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 6 feet and 7 inches, he plays the ...
, and
Greek American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
s
Lou Tsioropoulos
Louis Charles Tsioropoulos (Greek: Λουδοβίκος Τσιωρόπουλος; 31 August 1930 – 22 August 2015) was a Greek-American professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics for three ...
,
Kurt Rambis
Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won fou ...
,
Nick Calathes
Nicholas William Calathes (Greek: Νικόλαος Γουίλιαμ "Νικ" Καλάθης, born February 7, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Eu ...
and
Kostas Koufos.
Anastasia Kostaki and
Evanthia Maltsi
Evanthia "Evina" Maltsi ( el, Εβίνα Μάλτση, born 30 December 1978) is a Greek former professional basketball guard. In 2007, she played for Connecticut Sun in the WNBA, appearing in 29 games, 26 in the regular season (7 as a starter) an ...
are female Greek professional basketball players that have played in the
WNBA.
Cricket
Cricket is not very popular in most of Greece, but it is pretty popular in
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
. The British imported the sport to Corfu during the British rule of the
Ionian Islands. Almost all the activities of this sport take place in Corfu. The
Hellenic Cricket Federation
The Hellenic Cricket Federation (Greek: Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Κρίκετ) is the governing body of cricket in Greece. The current president is Joseph Nikitas. Greece was accepted into the European Cricket Council (ECC) in 1995 ...
and most clubs of the
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
are located on the island. So far, two European Cricket Championships have been held in Corfu
Football
Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
is the most popular team sport in Greece. Its national governing body is the
Hellenic Football Federation
The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, translit=Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO) is the governing body of associat ...
founded in 1926, which is member of
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
. The
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...
rose to prominence in the
UEFA Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
, when they were crowned European champions which is referred to by many people as the biggest shock in football history until today. Ranked 13th in the
world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
as of 2009, they have qualified three times for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, reaching the Round of 16 in 2014, four times for the
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, and one time for the
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. Greece has great tradition in youth teams, which have been successful; the
Under-21 team were runners-up in the
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...
in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
and
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, the
Under-19 team were runners-up in the
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.
Spain and England ...
in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, while the
Under-17 team were runners-up in the
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.
Spain is the most successful team in this ...
in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, took the third place in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
and the fourth place in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
.
The official national championship was held for a first time in the season 1927–28.
Super League Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
is now the highest professional league in the
Greek football league system
The Greek football league system includes four levels in which teams can possibly make it to the Super League 1, Greece's highest division of football.
Cup eligibility
Greek Football Professional Cup: Levels 1 to 2
Greek Football Amateur Cup: L ...
. It is currently ranked 12th in the
UEFA coefficient
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...
, while it was placed among the top ten strongest leagues in Europe from 1996 to 2006, with its peak being the 6th place in 2002 and 2003. The
Greek Football Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most im ...
has been the main domestic cup competition, inaugurated in season 1931–32. Both competitions have been dominated by
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
, which is the
most successful football club in Greece, followed by the other two big Greek football clubs
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
and
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
. The Greek football clubs have not won any major UEFA competition yet; the only club that have reached a final so far is Panathinaikos, who were
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
runners-up in
1970–71, while they have also reached the semifinals on two occasions. Olympiacos and AEK Athens have made it to the quarterfinals in the top European clubs' competition, while these three clubs have reached the quarterfinals in the other major UEFA competitions as well, with AEK Athens' best performance being a semifinal appearance in the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
.
Fencing
![Leonidas Pyrgos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Leonidas_Pyrgos.jpg)
Fencing used to be popular in Greece in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Greek fencers won Olympic medals in the first Olympic Games in Athens. These include
Leonidas Pyrgos
Leonidas Pyrgos (born 1874 in Mantineia, Arcadia; date of death unkwown) was a Greek fencer.
Career
Pyrgos was the first Greek Olympic medallist in the history of the modern Olympic Games, winning his fencing event of the 1896 Summer Olympics o ...
,
Ioannis Georgiadis
Ioannis Georgiadis (29 March 1876 – 17 May 1960) was a Greece, Greek fencing, fencer. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the 1906 Intercalated Games, 1906 Intercalated Olympics and the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In 1896 Ge ...
gold,
Tilemachos Karakalos silver and
Periklis Pierrakos-Mavromichalis bronze.
Field Hockey
There is a depiction of a hockey-like game from 200 BC in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
when the game may have been called "Κερητίζειν" ("kerētízein") because it was played with a horn ("κέρας" in Greek) and a ball-like object. Despite the possible ancient origin of the sport, field hockey is regaining in popularity in modern Greece. It was introduced in the country by
Panathinaikos A.O.
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
in the early 20th century, but a national championship was organized much later, in 1994.
Futsal
Futsal in Greece was active less than three decades. The first fields of this sport appeared in the early of 1990s and initially they served the amusement and the recreation of adults. Soon, the sport becomes more organised and the first official championship held at the late of 1990s, concretely in the season 1997–98. The official
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
,
Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
and the national teams are regulated by
Hellenic Football Federation
The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, translit=Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO) is the governing body of associat ...
. Just after, in 1999 the Panhellenic Association of Futsal Clubs (Πανελλήνια Ενωση Ποδοσφαιρικών Σωματείων Σάλας) was established. Now, the championship held with the participation of ten teams.
Handball
Handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
is a less popular, but growing team sport in Greece. The
Greece men's national handball team
The Greece national handball team is the national handball team of Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located ...
finished 6th out of 24 teams in the
2005 World Men's Handball Championship
The 2005 World Men's Handball Championship was the 19th team handball World Championship. It was played in Tunisia from 23 January to 6 February 2005.
The winner of the gold medal was Spain, Croatia took silver and France won the bronze.
Venu ...
, in their first (and so far only) time competing. In 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), ...
, Greece finished 6th. Greece finished 4th out of 6 teams in Group B, with wins over
Brazil men's national handball team
Brazil national handball team is the national handball team of Brazil and is governed by the Confederação Brasileira de Handebol.
Competitions record Olympic Games
World Championship
Pan American Games
Pan American Championship
South ...
and
Egypt men's national handball team
The Egyptian national handball team is the national handball team of Egypt and is controlled by the Egyptian Handball Federation.
Egypt is one of the finest handball teams from Africa along with Tunisia and Algeria.
Egypt has ...
, before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual gold medalists
Croatia men's national handball team
The Croatia national handball team represents Croatia in international men's team handball competitions and friendly matches. The handball team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS).
Croatia has often ...
, and then beating
South Korea men's national handball team
The South Korea national handball team is the national handball team of South Korea and is controlled by the Korea Handball Federation.
Competitive record
Champions Runners-up
Olympic Games
World Champ ...
, before losing to
France men's national handball team
The France national handball team is supervised by the French Handball Federation, and represents France in international matches. It is the first handball team to have held all three titles twice (the Danish women' ...
.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey was imported in Greece in 1984, from Greeks abroad. The
Greek Federation of Ice Sports
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
was founded two years later in 1986 and the
first championship
The FIRST Championship is a four-day robotics championship held annually in April at which FIRST student robotics teams compete. For several years, the event was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to the Edward Jones Dome in ...
was held in 1989. The sport has had trouble due to the insufficiency of ice rinks in Greece.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
in Greece has produced multiple all-time great fighters. It is not one of the most popular sports in Greece, but it has its followers.
* Greece's
Michalis "Iron Mike" Zambidis is the current world's welterweight
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
champion with the ''King Of The Ring'' belt and he is a 15-time world
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
champion. Pound for pound, he is considered to be one of the best kickboxers in the world, under International
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
rules.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
however is much more popular amongst Greeks of Diaspora, especially in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, which has given many legends of the sport, such as:
*
Stan 'The Man' Longinidis, who is a former 8-time world champion, and is regarded by many as the best kickboxer (under international rules) ever
*
Tosca Petridis
Tosca Petridis (born Tasis Petridis, 30 October 1966) is an Australian former kickboxer and boxer.
He was born in Melbourne, however is of Greek ethnicity. He lives in Melbourne.
Kickboxing
Tosca is a former 7 time World Kickboxing champion.
...
, who is a former 7-time world champion.
*
Arthur Tsakonas
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
, who is a former world champion.
* As well as other greats such as
Louie Iosifidis,
Evangelos Goussis
Evangelos "Ange" Goussis (born 14 September 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer from Geelong, Victoria, and is a multiple murderer, guilty of the murders of two victims of the Melbourne gangland killings.
Early life
Goussis was ...
,
Nick Talakouris
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
, and many others.
Modern Pentathlon
Until 2000, the Olympic Sport of Modern Pentathlon (running + shooting, swimming, fencing, horse riding) was one of the SEGAS federation's sports. In 2000 the "Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon" was found. It is based in the "Goudi Olympic Center" in Athens.
Motorsport
Greece organises the
rally Acropolis
The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...
one of toughest rallies in WRC's calendar. Due to the mountainous terrain of the country the roads are unpredictable, and thus an ideal place for hill-climb rally; This has led to the foundation of the Hellenic Hill Climb.
Despite the passion of the Greek people for the
Formula 1
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
&
Moto GP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
, there is no race track that meets the requirements for the organization of such an event. It is rumored that construction of a race track somewhere in Greece will commence that meets the standards, however this is yet to be seen. However the Serres circuit does meet the formula 3 standards. Despite this, the Greek people sate their passion for motorsports by organising a wide variety of motorsports, from drag racing to drift.
Notable Greek drivers are:
*
Aris Vovos
Armodios "Aris" C. Vovos (Greek: Αρμόδιος "Άρης" Βωβός; born 21 October 1964) is a Greek businessman. The family business Babis Vovos Constructions filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015. Vovos is a rally driver and was presiden ...
*
Alex Fontana
Alex Fontana (born 5 August 1992 in Lugano) is a Swiss racing driver of Greek descent, currently racing as a professional driver in the GT4 European Series for Centri Porsche Ticino. He is a freelance driver with an open contract able to race f ...
*
Jourdan Serderidis
* Andreas Laskaratos
Rugby
Rugby union and Rugby league started to gain a popular foothold in Greece during the 1990s.
A Hellenic Rugby (Union) Federation established in 2004 set up the mechanism for organizing its national team for international competitions.
The Domestic Rugby League started in 2011 in the Piraeus region and since 2012 there have been regular tournaments in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
Since 2014 Rugby Union is under the aegis of the Hellenic Handball Federation.
Since 2016 Rugby League is under the aegis of the Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon.
On 9 November 2019 the unofficial
Greece national rugby league team
The Greece national rugby league team (Greek: Ελλάδα εθνική ομάδα ράγκμπι λίγκ) represents Greece in rugby league. The team has been participating in international competition since 2003, and have qualified for their f ...
qualified for the
2021 Rugby League World Cup
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...
, after defeating
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
in a qualifier in Belgrade, 82-6.
Shooting
Shooting used to be very popular amongst the Greeks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Several Greek shooters won many Olympic medals in the first Olympiads (
Pantelis Karasevdas
Pantelis Karasevdas ( el, Παντελής Καρασεβδάς; 1877 – 14 March 1946) was a Greek sport shooter. He was a member of Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, that merged in 1923 with Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron to become Panachai ...
,
Georgios Orphanidis
Georgios D. Orphanidis ( el, Γεώργιος Ορφανίδης; 1859–1942) was a Greek sports shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He also competed at the 1906 Intercalated Gam ...
,
Ioannis Frangoudis
Ioannis Frangoudis ( el, Ιωάννης Φραγκούδης; 1863 – 19 October 1916) was a Greek soldier, athlete and Hellenic Army officer who reached the rank of Colonel. He also competed in the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens as a shooter. F ...
gold,
Panagiotis Pavlidis
Pavlos Pavlidis ( el, Παύλος Παυλίδης, died 1968) was a Greek sport shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Pavlidis placed second in the military rifle competition with a score of 1,978. He had hit the tar ...
,
Georgios Moraitinis,
Iason Sappas,
Alexandros Theofilakis
Alexandros Theofilakis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Θεοφιλάκης, born 1877) was a Greece, Greek shooting sports, shooter.
Career
Theofilakis competed at the Summer Olympics in 1896 Summer Olympics, 1896, 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908, 1912 ...
,
Ioannis Theofilakis
Ioannis Theofilakis (Theophilakis) ( el, Ιωάννης Θεοφιλάκης, 1879–1968) was a Greek sport shooter who competed at five Olympic games, and the 1906 Intercalated Games. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He also ...
,
Alexandros Vrasivanopoulos
Alexandros Vrasivanopoulos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Βρασιβανόπουλος, born 1890, date of death unknown) was a Greek sport shooter who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics.
In the 1920 Summer Olympics he won the silver medal as m ...
silver,
Nicolaos Trikupis
Nikolaos Trikoupis ( el, Νικόλαος Τρικούπης; 1868–1956) was a Greek general and politician, most notable for his service in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, where he was taken as a prisoner of war. He also participate ...
,
Nikolaos Morakis
Nikolaos Morakis ( el, Νικόλαος Μοράκης, sometimes seen as Dorakis ( el, Δοράκης)) was a Greek shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Morakis came third in the military pistol event with 205 poi ...
,
Anastasios Metaxas
Anastasios Metaxas ( el, Αναστάσιος Μεταξάς; 27 February 1862 – 28 January 1937) was a Greek architect and shooter.
Biography
Metaxas was the royal architect of George I of Greece and is best known for being the architect cho ...
bronze).
A new rise in shooting's popularity has been noted after
Anna Korakaki
Anna Korakaki ( el, Άννα Κορακάκη, born 8 April 1996) is a Greek Olympic shooter.
Career
She represented Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the 25m pistol shot event and a Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol ...
won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
Sailing & Rowing
Greece has three bordering seas, the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
,
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
and
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, so it is not surprising that sailing is a popular sport. Greek athletes have won 7 medals in sailing and 2 in Rowing at the Olympic games and also numerous gold medals in the world and European championships. Some of the most notable Greek athletes in the sports of sailing and rowing include world and olympic champions such as:
*
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis ( el, Νικόλαος Κακλαμανάκης, born August 19, 1968, in Athens) is the Greece, Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was ...
, a Greek Gold-medal winner in windsurfing, who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
*
Anastasios Bountouris
Anastasios "Tasos" Bountouris (born 2 August 1955 in Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located sou ...
, a Greek sailor who competed at six Olympics between 1976 and 1996. He is the first Greek to compete at six Olympic Games, an achievement so far matched only by shooter Agathi Kassoumi. He won a bronze medal in the 1980 Olympics in the Three-Person Keelboat with Anastasios Gavrilis and Aristidis Rapanakis.
*
Sofia Bekatorou
Sofia Bekatorou ( el, Σοφία Μπεκατώρου; born 26 December 1977) is a Greek sailing champion.
She has participated in over hundreds of main class events including 2004 Summer Olympics sailing competition, where she won the gold me ...
, who has participated in over 470 main class events including 2004 Summer Olympics sailing competition, where she won gold medal in the women's double-handed dinghy event in the 470 with her pair
Emilia Tsoulfa
Emilia Tsoulfa ( el, Αιμιλία Τσούλφα; born 15 May 1973 in Athens) is a Greek sailor.
She has been sailing in Piraeus Sailing Club since she was 12 years old. She participated in over 470 main classes events and won Gold medals in: ...
. She has also won 4 world championships.
*
Georgios Zaimis
Georgios Zaimis (, 28 June 1937 in Piraeus – 1 May 2020) was a Greek sailor and Olympic Champion. He participated at three Summer Olympics. Along with his fellow crew members of the Nireus Sailing Vessel, he was named one of the 1960 Greek At ...
, a Greek sailor and Olympic Champion, who together with Constantine II of Greece and Odysseus Eskidioglou competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and won a gold medal in the Dragon class with the boat Nirefs .
*
Vasileios Polymeros
Vasileios Polymeros ( el, Βασίλειος Πολύμερος, born 20 February 1976 in Volos) is a Greek rower. He won the bronze medal in men's lightweight double sculls with Nikolaos Skiathitis at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greec ...
, a Greek rower who won the bronze medal in men's lightweight double sculls with Nikolaos Skiathitis at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the silver in men's lightweight double sculls with Dimitrios Mougios at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He has also won one gold and 3 silver medals in the world championships.
*
Dimitrios Mougios is a Greek rower, who won the silver medal in men's lightweight double sculls with Vasileios Polymeros at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, two-times European champion and a silver world champion.
In the
European Rowing Championships
The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a European ...
, Greece has won more gold medals all-time than any other nation, and is tied with Germany for the second-most medals of all time (behind Italy). In fact, Greece has finished first in the medal count 50% of the times it has been held, and has been in the top 4 of the medal count every single time!
Swimming & Diving
Swimming and Diving are two sports that Greek athletes have achieved significant wins at the Olympic Games, World championships and European Championships. Some notable Greek swimmers are the Olympic champions of the past
Spyridon Chazapis
Spyridon P. Chazapis ( el, Σπυρίδων Χαζάπης; 1872, in Andros – ?) was a Greece, Greek swimmer. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Chazapis competed in the 100 metres freestyle swimming, freestyle for sailor ...
and
Efstathios Chorafas and present World and European champions such as
Romanos Alyfantis,
Nery Mantey Niangkouara
Nery Mantey Niangkouara ( el, Νέρι Νιαγκουάρα) (born March 14, 1983 in Athens, Greece) is a Greek swimmer. She began her career at Nereus Halandri and then moved on to Panathinaikos. In 2001, she won 2 silver medals at the Medite ...
,
Ioannis Drymonakos
Ioannis Drymonakos (born 18 January 1984) is a Greek swimmer from Athens. He became the first ever Greek swimmer to hold a European swimming record by clocking a time of 1:54.16 seconds in 200 m butterfly event of the 2008 European Aquati ...
, the world champion in the 50 m backstroke event of the 2005 World Championships
Aristeidis Grigoriadis
Aristeidis ("Aris") Grigoriadis ( el, Άρης Γρηγοριάδης; born 6 December 1985) is a Greek swimmer from Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salo ...
and silver world champion
Spyridon Gianniotis
Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis (; born 19 February 1980) is a Greek competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance and open-water freestyle events. He is an Olympic silver medalist, two-time World Champion, World Cup gold medalist, and two ...
.
Thomas Bimis and
Nikolaos Siranidis
Nikolaos Siranidis (Greek: Νικόλαος Σιρανίδης; born 26 February 1976) is a Greek diver who competed in the synchronised 3 metre springboard competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics. After a bizarre event where the Chinese, Russi ...
made history winning Greece's first-ever gold medal in diving and the hosts' first gold of the 2004 Athens Olympics. The diver pair therefore became very popular in Greece.
Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
has been growing in Greece over the past decade
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou ( el, Ελένη Δανιηλίδου; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete.
She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and t ...
has had a lot of success, winning 5
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
titles in her career. Several players with Greek ancestry, such as
Pete Sampras
Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...
and
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...
have become very famous around the world. Greek-Cypriot star
Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimble ...
has many fans in Greece. Greece also has several other players at the international level, like
Konstantinos Economidis
Konstantinos Economidis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Οικονομίδης, born 2 November 1977) is a retired professional Greek tennis player and a former Greek No. 1. In 2007, he qualified for the French Open and defeated Australian Chris ...
,
Anna Gerasimou
Anna Gerasimou ( el, Άννα Γερασίμου; born 15 October 1987) is a retired Greek tennis player. When she was young, she moved from her birthplace Kavala to Athens in order to pursue a career in tennis.
Gerasimou competed in the women ...
and
Irini Georgatou
Eirini Georgatou ( el, Ειρήνη Γεωργάτου; born 1 February 1990) is a Greek former tennis player.
On 16 May 2011, she reached her career-high singles ranking of 176. Her highest doubles ranking of 171 she achieved on 31 January 201 ...
. Since 2016, a new era started for this sport in Greece with
Maria Sakkari
Maria Sakkari ( gr, Μαρία Σάκκαρη, ; born 25 July 1995) is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her ...
, who has claimed nine singles wins over top 10 players, and in 2017 appeared in the
ATP World Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organis ...
the former junior world No.1
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas ( gr, Στέφανος Τσιτσιπάς, ; born 12 August 1998) is a Greek professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 9 ...
, who reached semifinals of the
2019 Australian Open
The 2019 Australian Open was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 14 to 27 January 2019. It was the 107th edition of the Australian Open, the 51st in the Open Era, and the first Grand Slam (te ...
and won the
2019 ATP Finals
The 2019 ATP Finals (also known as the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played at the O2 Arena on indoor hard courts in London, United Kingdom, from 10 to 17 November 2019. It was the season-ending e ...
.
Triathlon
Triathlon is an Olympic Sport that includes running, swimming and cycling. It is under the Aegis of the Modern Pentathlon Federation.
Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
is a popular sport in Greece controlled by the Hellenic Volleyball Federation, member of
CEV. The major achievements of the
Greek men's national volleyball team are two bronze medals, one in the
Men's European Volleyball Championship
The Men's European Volleyball Championship (''EuroVolley'') is the official competition for senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was va ...
and another one in the
Men's European Volleyball League
The Men's European Volleyball League is a continental volleyball competition senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). Created in 2004, the competition serves as a qualifying tourn ...
, a 5th place in the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and a 6th place in the
FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
The FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The initial gap between championships was variable ...
. The Greek league, the
A1 Ethniki
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
, is considered one of the top volleyball leagues in Europe and the Greek clubs have made significant success in European competitions.
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
is the most successful volleyball club in the country having won the most domestic titles and being the only Greek club to have won European trophies; they have won two
CEV Cups, they have been
CEV Champions League
The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation.
Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification
A tot ...
runners-up twice and have also played in many final fours in the European competitions, making them one of the biggest volleyball clubs in Europe.
Iraklis
Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...
,
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
and Orestiada have also made it to the final in continental tournaments.
Greece featured a women's national team in
beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
that competed at the
2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
Water polo
![WaterPolo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/WaterPolo.JPG)
Greece is often regarded as an international powerhouse in both men's and women's
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
, with its clubs and nationals teams having achieved a great number of distinctions in international competitions. The
Greek men's national water polo team have won a silver medal in the
1997 FINA World Cup, two bronze medals in the
FINA World League in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, a bronze medal in the
2005 World Aquatics Championships
The 2005 World Aquatics Championships (french: Championnats du monde de natation 2005) or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005. They took place in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's I ...
and the 4th place in the
2004 Olympic Games
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), ...
. The
Greek women's national water polo team's most important achievements are the gold medal in the
2011 World Aquatics Championships
The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synchro ...
, the silver medals in the
2004 Olympic Games
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), ...
,
2010 European Championship and
2012 European Championship, as well as a gold and three bronze medals in the
FINA World League in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, 2010 and
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
respectively.
The Greek water polo leagues in both
men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...
and women are among the top European leagues, while several Greek clubs have enjoyed international success. In men's competitions,
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
is one of the biggest European water polo clubs having won one
LEN Euroleague
The LEN Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation.
The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A change of nam ...
title and a European Super Cup in 2002, the only Greek club to have been crowned European champions, while they have also participated in three more finals, one in the LEN Euroleague and two in the
LEN Cup Winners' Cup
The LEN Cup Winners' Cup was a European water polo club competition organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. National cup winners qualified for the tournament. After 2003, the nationalcup winners qualified for the LEN Euroleague, and the cup ...
; along with
Ethnikos Piraeus
Ethnikos Piraeus (Greek: Εθνικός Πειραιώς) is a Greek multisport club based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1923. The full name of the club is Ethnikos Omilos Filathlon Pireos/Phalirou or Ethnikos OFPF (Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλ ...
, they are the most successful water polo clubs in the country.
Vouliagmeni
Vouliagmeni ( el, Βουλιαγμένη, meaning "sunken") is a seaside suburb and former municipality 20 km south of Athens city centre. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which ...
won a LEN Cup Winner's Cup in 1997 and they have also been runners-up one time in the
LEN Trophy
The LEN Euro Cup is the second-tier European water polo club competition run by the Ligue Européenne de Natation for those clubs who did not qualify for the LEN Champions League. The cup was inaugurated in 1992.
History
Names of the competitio ...
, such as
NO Patras
NO Patras (NOP), (Greek language, Greek: Ναυταθλητικός Όμιλος Πατρών = Nautical Club of Patras), is a water polo club participating in the First Division of the Greek Championship (A1 Greek water polo, A1 Ethniki).
Hist ...
and
Panionios
Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
. In women's competitions, the Greek clubs have dominated the European competitions in the 2000s (decade); Vouliagmeni, three-time
European champions and
LEN Trophy
The LEN Euro Cup is the second-tier European water polo club competition run by the Ligue Européenne de Natation for those clubs who did not qualify for the LEN Champions League. The cup was inaugurated in 1992.
History
Names of the competitio ...
winner once, and
Glyfada
Glyfada ( el, Γλυφάδα, ) is a suburb in South Athens located in the Athens Riviera along the Athens coast. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens' Urban Area. The area stretches from the foot of the Hymettus mountain to the Sar ...
, with two European championships, are two of the most successful European women's sides. Ethnikos Piraeus have also won a LEN Trophy, while Olympiacos have made it to the final in the same competition y
Dimitrios Diathessopoulos
Dimitrios Diathessopoulos is a Greek lawyer specializing in sports law, a politician and an important figure in the Greek Sports and International Swimming society. He is called the father of Greek water polo and he is the presently the longest se ...
is known as the ''father of Greek water polo''.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...
has been the most successful
individual sport
An individual sport is a sport in which participants compete as individuals. However, team competitions in individual sports also occur, such as the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup.
Overview
Examples
*Athletics
*Badminton
*Billiards
*Bodybuildin ...
for the Greeks, with the national team regularly winning gold medals at the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and the rest international competitions.
Greek weightlifters have won a total 15 medals at the Olympics with 6 of them being gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals.
In the
World Weightlifting Championships
The World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The first competition, held in March 1891, was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England.
Athletes compete in a total of 20 weight categori ...
Greek weightlifting team has won a total 111 medals (70 in men and 41 in women) with 26 of them being gold. Greek weightlifters have set many world and Olympic records during the years which forced the sporting world to name the Greek weightlifting team of the mid-1990s, the "Dream Team" of the sport. Some of the greatest weightlifters in the history of the sport include Greek legends such as:
*
Pyrros Dimas
Pyrros Dimas ( el, Πύρρος Δήμας; ; born 13 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former weightlifter. He is currently the technical director for USA Weightlifting, having taken that position in June 2017. Dimas has also been involve ...
, a Greek weightlifter from Northern Epirus. A three-time Olympic champion, multiple World and European champion. He is considered worldwide one of the greatest athletes in the history of this sport and the most successful weightlifter of the Olympic Games.
*
Kakhi Kakhiashvili
Kakhi Kakhiashvili ( ka, კახი კახიაშვილი, el, Ακάκιος "Κάχι" Κακιασβίλης; born 13 July 1969 in Tskhinvali, Georgian SSR, USSR) is a Georgian-Greek weightlifter, one of only five weightlifters to ...
, another all-time great of this sport. He is one of only four weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games.
*
Viktor Mitrou
Viktor Mitrou (Βίκτωρ Μήτρου; born June 24, 1973) is a retired male Greek weightlifter. He initially represented Albania, but became internationally distinguished with the Greece national team. Mitrou won a Silver Medal for Greece in ...
, a retired male weightlifter from Greece. He became an Olympic medalist during the 2000 Summer Olympics when he claimed the silver medal in the men's – 77 kg class and
*The legendary Greek weightlifter
Dimitrios Tofalos
Dimitrios Tofalos ( el, Δημήτριος Τόφαλος, April 14, 1884 in Patras, Greece – November 15, 1966) was a Greek weightlifter. He was a member of both Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron and Panachaikos Gymnastikos syllogos, that merged in 1 ...
. He was a member of both Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron and Panachaikos Gymnastikos syllogos, that merged in 1923 to become Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi. Arguably the greatest weightlifter of the early 20th century, he won the gold medal in the 1906 Intercalated Games, setting a world record that lasted until 1914.
Wrestling
The forms of wrestling we know today as
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
and
freestyle
Freestyle may refer to:
Brands
* Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe
* Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile
* Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine
* ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker
* Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...
found their origins in the lands on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. These lands are where the Ancient Greeks resided, and developed the art of wrestling.
Wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
to the Greeks was not only part of a soldier's training regimen, but also a part of everyday life. Even in modern days,
Wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
has been one of the most significant
Olympic sports
Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an Sports governing body, inter ...
in Greece, which has produced many Olympic and world champions and has given moments of glory to the country.
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
has won 11 medals at the modern
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and multiple medals in the World and European championships, a fact that makes the sport as one of the most successful for the country on a global stage.
Some of the most significant
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
wrestlers are:
*
Stelios Mygiakis, who competed at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in Moscow and won a gold medal in
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
, the ''featherweight'' class.
*
Georgios Tsitas
Georgios Tsitas ( el, Γεώργιος Τσίτας, born 1872 in Smyrna, died between 1940 and 1945) was a Greece, Greek sport wrestling, wrestler. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
In the first round of the wrestling competiti ...
, who won a silver medal at the
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
*
Petros Galaktopoulos, who won 3 medals at the
FILA Wrestling World Championships
The World Wrestling Championships are the Amateur Wrestling World Championships organized by United World Wrestling. The Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling tournament began in 1904, and the Men's Freestyle Wrestling tournament began in 1951. The Women's ...
and 2 Olympic medals, a bronze at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
and a silver at the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
.
*
Ioannis Arzoumanidis
Ioannis Arzoumanidis ( gr, Γιάννης Αρζουμανίδης; born October 22, 1986) is a male freestyle wrestler from Greece.
Championships and accomplishments
MMA
*MMA Challenge Pro
**MMA Challenge Pro Heavyweight Champion (2 ...
, a two time bronze world champion
*
Artiom Kiouregkian, is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
-
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...
, who won a
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
at the
2004 Summer Olympic Games
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), ...
in
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
.
Lacrosse
The
Greece national lacrosse team qualified for the
2018 World Lacrosse Championship
The 2018 World Lacrosse Championship was the 13th edition of the international men's field lacrosse tournament for national teams organized by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). As many as 50 countries were expected to compete in the ...
, its first qualification ever.
Notable multi-sport clubs
*In
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
:
Panathinaikos A.O.
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
,
A.E.K.
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
,
Panionios G.S.S.
Panionios G.S.S. (Greek: Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'', is a Greek multi-sport club founded in 1890. Originally ...
,
NC Vouliagmeni
NO Vouliagmeni or "NOV" (Greek: Ναυτικός Όμιλος Βουλιαγμένης, "NOB" = Nautical Club of Vouliagmeni) is a major aquatic sports club, founded by local sportsmen in 1937 in the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni, Athens, Greece. ...
,
Panellinios G.S.
Panellinios G.S. (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greek multi-sport club that is located in Athens and was founded in ...
*In
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
:
P.A.O.K.
PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans' ...
,
Aris Thessaloniki
Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...
,
G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki
*In
Patras
)
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 =
, demographics1_info2 =
, timezone1 = EET
, utc_offset1 = +2
, ...
:
Panachaiki G.E.
*In
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
:
Olympiacos CFP
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
,
Ethnikos Piraeus
Ethnikos Piraeus (Greek: Εθνικός Πειραιώς) is a Greek multisport club based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1923. The full name of the club is Ethnikos Omilos Filathlon Pireos/Phalirou or Ethnikos OFPF (Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλ ...
*In
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
:
*In
Heraklion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
:
O.F.I.
*In
Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
:
PAS Giannina
PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...
Notable sportsmen of Greek origin
Greek American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
*
Pete Sampras
Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...
-
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player, considered one of the best tennis players in history
*
Chris Chelios
Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal Can ...
- NHL hockey all-time great player
*
Peter Angelos
Peter G. Angelos (born July 4, 1929) is an American trial lawyer and baseball executive from Baltimore, Maryland. Angelos is the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a team in the American League of Major League Baseball.
Early life and educ ...
- MLB owner of the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
*
Anton Christoforidis
Anton Christoforidis (; 26 May 1917 – 19 October 1985) was a Greek professional light heavyweight boxer. He won the NBA Light Heavyweight Championship in 1941, making him the first Greek to become a world boxing champion.
Early life
Chris ...
- professional boxer, NBA World Light Heavyweight Champion 1941
*
Chris Karamesines
Chris Karamesines (born November 11, 1931) is an American drag racer and one of NHRA's early pioneers and nicknamed "The Golden Greek" or just simply "Greek". In 2009, he became the first driver in NHRA history to compete and become the fastest d ...
- racecar driver
*
David Batista (Bautista) -
WWE SmackDown!, professional wrestler (Greek mother)
*
Kosta Koufos
Konstantine Demetrios "Kosta" Koufos ( Greek: ; born February 24, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player who plays for the London Lions of the British Basketball League (BBL). He played one season at Ohio State before being sel ...
- player for the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
in the NBA and the
Greece national team
*
Dean Karnazes
Dean Karnazes ( ; born ''Constantinos Karnazes''; August 23, 1962), is an American ultramarathon runner, and author of ''Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner'', which details ultra endurance running for the general public.
Earl ...
- ultramarathon champion, writer, businessman
*
Alex Karras
Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012) was an American football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), ...
- NFL player with the Detroit Lions, wrestler and actor
*
Lou Karras
Louis George Karras (September 19, 1927 – September 20, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, until an eye injury prematurely ended his career. He played college foot ...
- NFL player with the Washington Redskins, older brother of Alex Karras
*
Ted Karras - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, brothers of Alex & Lou Karras
*
Alexi Lalas
Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...
-
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player for the L.A. Galaxy,
U.S. national team
*
George Kottaras
George Kottaras ( ; born May 10, 1983) is a Canadian former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Card ...
- currently starting catcher for the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
*
Matt Stover
John Matthew Stover (born January 27, 1968) is a former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Ravens. After five seasons for the Cleveland Browns, he was amon ...
- NFL player, kicker for
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
*
Jim Londos
Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...
- champion wrestler during the 1930s
*
Greg Louganis
Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic diver, LGBT activist, and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second diver in Ol ...
- Olympic diving champion
*
Harry "the Golden Greek" Agganis1 - college football star and professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox
*
Nick Markakis
Nicholas William Markakis ( ) (born November 17, 1983) is a Greek-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Markakis was the Orioles ...
- MLB outfielder who currently plays for the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
[ "Markakis, who is half Greek and half German, led the Greek Olympic team..."]
*
Tino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 t ...
- former MLB
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
for the N.Y. Yankees (Greek mother)
*
Milt Pappas
Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...
- MLB pitcher for the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
and
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
and other teams
*
Tom Pappas
Tom Pappas (born September 6, 1976, in Azalea, Oregon) is an American track & field decathlete.
Pappas won the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships held outside Paris, France and was rated number 1 in the world that year by Tr ...
- Track & field decathlete, 2003 world decathlon champion and 2-time Olympian.
*
George Parros
George James Parros (born December 29, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), who currently serves as the head of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, with the tit ...
- NHL hockey player
*
Kurt Rambis
Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach who is a senior basketball adviser for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won fou ...
- former NBA player, won 4 championships with the L.A. Lakers (birth name Kyriakos Rambidis)
*
Alex Spanos
Alexander Gus Spanos (September 28, 1923 – October 9, 2018) was an American billionaire real estate developer, founder of the A. G. Spanos Companies, and the majority owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football Lea ...
- NFL owner of the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
*
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...
- WWE diva
*
George Theodore - MLB outfielder for the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
*
Lou Tsioropoulos
Louis Charles Tsioropoulos (Greek: Λουδοβίκος Τσιωρόπουλος; 31 August 1930 – 22 August 2015) was a Greek-American professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics for three ...
- former NBA player with the Boston Celtics
*
Garo Yepremian
Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (June 2, 1944 – May 15, 2015) was a Cypriot-Armenian American football placekicker who played in the National Football League for 15 seasons, primarily with the Miami Dolphins. During his nine seasons in Miam ...
- NFL player (Greek Cypriot origin)
Greek Australian
Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...
*
Braith Anasta
Braith Anastasakis (born 14 January 1982), better known as Braith Anasta, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian and Greek international, Anasta played in the NRL ...
– Rugby league
*
Anthony Koutoufides
Anthony Koutoufides (born 18 January 1973), also known by his nickname of Kouta, is a retired Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. Considered by many as one of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played ...
- a former Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.
*
Ang Christou
Ang Christou (born 16 January 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer for Carlton in the Australian Football League.
Football career
Christou played for the Carlton Football Club and along with Anthony Koutoufides was a popular figure a ...
– Australian rules football player
*
Angelo Lekkas
Angelo Lekkas (born 29 June 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire professional career with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After a stellar year playing in the TAC competition wit ...
– Australian rules football player
*
Lou Richards
Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the team ...
– Australian rules football player
*
David Zaharakis
David Zaharakis (born 21 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Zaharakis attended Our Lady Help of Christians Primary S ...
– Australian rules football player
*
Michael Katsidis
Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challeng ...
– professional boxer, former WBO lightweight world champion
*
George Kambosos Jr.
George Kambosos Jr (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian professional boxer who held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and '' The Ring'' lightweight titles from 2021 to June 2022. As of September 2022, he's ranked as the world's number one lightweight by ...
- professional boxer
*
Stan Longinidis
Stan "The Man" Longinidis (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four differen ...
- a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai.
*
Tosca Petridis
Tosca Petridis (born Tasis Petridis, 30 October 1966) is an Australian former kickboxer and boxer.
He was born in Melbourne, however is of Greek ethnicity. He lives in Melbourne.
Kickboxing
Tosca is a former 7 time World Kickboxing champion.
...
- a former 7 world Kickboxing champion
*
George Sotiropoulos
George Sotiropoulos (born 9 July 1977) is an Australian born retired mixed martial artist of Greek descent who previously fought in the UFC in their Lightweight division. He is well known for appearing as a fighter on the TV show '' The Ultimat ...
–
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
*
Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Patrick Lazarus (born 11 December 1965) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and a former Australian Senator. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Lazarus won premier ...
– player
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
,
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
and
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
*
George Peponis
George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis el, Γιώργος Πεπόνης; on 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales stat ...
– former Australian captain
*
Willie Peters
Willie Peters (born 1 March 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer. Peters played in the 1990s and 2 ...
– player,
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...
*
Michael Diamond – shooter – Olympic gold medallist, Sydney 2000
*
Lydia Lassila (née Lerodiaconou) – skier – Winter
Olympian (gold medalist)
*
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...
– tennis player
*
Nick Kyrgios
Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won seven ATP Tour singles titles, includin ...
- tennis player
*
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Athanasios "Thanasi" Kokkinakis ( ; born 10 April 1996) is an Australian professional tennis player and a doubles specialist. He has been ranked as high as world No. 69 in singles by the ATP, which he first achieved on 8 June 2015. He has won o ...
- tennis player
*
Stan Lazaridis
Stan Lazaridis (born 16 August 1972) is an Australian former footballer. He was predominantly a left winger though he had been known to perform at left back. He last played for his home-town club Perth Glory and made 58 official appearances for ...
– Association football player
*
Charlie Yankos
Charlie Yankos (born 29 May 1961) is an Australian former association football, footballer who played for the Australia national football (soccer) team, Australian national team 49 times and scored 7 international goals. He captained the nation ...
– Association football player
*
Marcus Stoinis
Marcus Peter Stoinis (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian cricketer who plays limited overs cricket for the Australian national team. He is contracted to Western Australia and Melbourne Stars domestically, and has previously also played for P ...
- Australian cricket player
Greek Diaspora
The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia ( el, Ομογένεια, Omogéneia), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus (excluding Northern Cyprus). Such places historically include Albania, North Macedonia, parts of ...
*
Joseph Pilates
Joseph Hubertus Pilates (9 December 1883 – 9 October 1967) was a German physical trainer, credited with inventing and promoting the Pilates method of physical fitness.
Biography Early life
Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born on 9 December 1 ...
*
Nicolas Macrozonaris
Nicolas Macrozonaris ( gr, Νικόλαος Μακροζωνάρης, born August 22, 1980) is a Canadian Olympic track and field athlete who has won the 100 metre national title four times and once in the 200 metre.
Career
He was inspired t ...
*
Dave Nonis
David M. Nonis (born May 25, 1966) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. He is a special assignment scout for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and serves as a consultant to the team's general manager.
Playing career
G ...
*
Dominic Filiou
Dominic Filiou (February 27, 1977 – January 2, 2019) was a Canadian strongman of Greek ancestry. Filiou was best known for competing in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World's Strongest Man competitions. In 2005 he finished third in the finals, a car ...
*
George Athans
George Athans (born 6 July 1952) is a Canadian retired competitive water skier. During his career he won 10 consecutive national titles from 1965 to 1974, the first at age 13. Also known as George Athans Jr. to distinguish him from his father, C ...
*
Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...
*
Stanley Christodoulou
Stanley Christodoulou (Greek: Στάνλυ Χριστοδούλου; born 31 January 1946) is a South African international boxing judge and referee of Greek Cypriot descent. Christodoulou has judged bouts in his native South Africa, as well as int ...
*
Nic Pothas
Nic Pothas (born 18 November 1973) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer who played as a right-handed batsman and fielded as a wicket-keeper. In a total of over 200 first-class matches, he has taken over 500 catches. Pothas is a ...
*
Eder Jofre Eder may refer to:
People
*Eder (surname)
*Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name
*Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins
*Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau Ede ...
*
Emanuel Moriatis
Emanuel Alexis Moriatis (born January 19, 1980, in Lanús, Buenos Aires province) is an Argentine (of Greek origin) racing driver. He won the Turismo Carretera championship in 2009, and the Turismo Nacional Clase 3 championship in 2012 and 201 ...
*
Oscar Panno
Oscar Roberto Panno (born 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess Grandmaster. Panno was the first top world chess player born in South America.
Panno won the 2nd World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, ahead of such future stron ...
*
Kyriakos Ioannou
Kyriakos Ioannou ( el, Κυριάκος Ιωάννου, born 26 July 1984) is a Cypriot high jumper. He has twice won medals at the World Championships in Athletics (2007 and 2009) and was the bronze medallist at the IAAF World Indoor Champions ...
*
Ilias Zacharopoulos
See also
*
Superleague Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
(top football league)
*
Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
(top basketball league)
*
Hellenic Football Federation
The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, translit=Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO) is the governing body of associat ...
*
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...
*
Greece national basketball team
The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...
*
Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Greece was the host country for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, from 13 to 29 August 2004. As the progenitor nation and in keeping with tradition, Greek athletes have competed at every Summer Olympics in the modern era, alongside Australia, Gr ...
*
List of Greek sports teams
References
Hellenic federation of Modern Pentathlon, authorised for Triathlon (Ministry Decision) https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/%CE%A904%CE%A74653%CE%A04-%CE%A1%CE%A66?inline=true
Hellenic federation of Modern Pentathlon, authorised for Rugby League (Ministry Decision) https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/7%CE%A63%CE%9B4653%CE%A04-001?inline=true
External links
Sport in Greece
{{Sport in Europe