Spyridon "Spiros" Bitsakis ( gr, Σπυρίδων Μπιτσάκης ; born March 4, 1981) is a Greek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and a 2003 All-American swimmer in the 100 m freestyle, while studying in the United States. He is one of two Greek swimmers, alongside Apostolos Tsagkarakis, who trained for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, under head coach Don Gambril, at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

Senior career

Bitsakis made his official debut at the

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

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

. He failed to reach the top 16 in the

100 m freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

, finishing in a thirty-fourth place tie with Kyrgyzstan's

Sergey Ashihmin Sergey Ashihmin (russian: Серге́й Ашихмин; is a Russian-born Kyrgyzstani former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a former Kyrgyzstan record holder in the 50 and 100 ...

at 51.28. He also placed fifteenth, along with

Athanasios Oikonomou Thanasis Oikonomou ( gr, Θανάσης Οικονόμου; born 2 April 1978) is a Greek swimmer who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (D ...

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 ...

, and

Dimitrios Manganas Dimitrios Manganas (born 24 February 1978) is a Greek former swimmer who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Α ...

, in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay (7:35.77). When his home nation Greece hosted the

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

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 ...

, Bitsakis competed only as a relay swimmer in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle. Teaming with Aristeidis Grigoriadis,

Andreas Zisimos Andreas Zisimos (; born 31 December 1983) is a freestyle swimmer from Greece. He won two medals at the 2005 Mediterranean Games, and represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, ...

, and Alexandros Tsoltos in heat two, Bitsakis swam a third leg and recorded a split of 52.25, but the Greeks settled only for seventh place and fourteenth overall in a final time of 3:24.26.

References

External links

2004 Olympic Profile – Eideisis Ellinika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitsakis, Spyridon 1981 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Greece Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Greek male freestyle swimmers Swimmers from Athens Alabama Crimson Tide men's swimmers Expatriate swimmers in the United States