Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis (; born 19 February 1980) 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 ...

competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance and open-water freestyle events. He is an Olympic silver medalist, two-time

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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gold medalist, and two-time European Champion.Spyros Gianniotis – Medals and Honours
Hellenic Swimming Federation official website A five-time Olympian, Gianniotis has won a total of 15 medals in major international long-course competition, totalling 5 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze spanning the Olympics, the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, the

and the European Championships. In 2011 he won the World Open Water Swimmer of the Year award, becoming the first and only Greek swimmer to earn that distinction. He was named the

Greek Male Athlete of the Year The PSAT Sports Awards (Greek: Αθλητικά Βραβεία ΠΣΑΤ) are the annual sports awards that are issued by the Panhellenic Sports Press Association (PSAT). The awards are given to the year's top performing individual athletes, in the ...

, for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013. He won the silver medal at the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

in Rio at the 10 km marathon swim. Initially, Gianniotis was given as the gold medalist as he appeared to cross the finish line first, but the Dutchman

Ferry Weertman Ferry Weertman (born 27 June 1992) is a former Dutch competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance freestyle and open water events. He is the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. ...

touched the timing pad before him. After 15 minutes of deliberations by the judges and the use of photo finish, Weertman was awarded the gold medal and Gianniotis the silver, despite the fact that both were credited with the same time: 1 hour, 52 minutes, 59.8 seconds (1:52:59.8). Gianniotis won the silver medal at the age of 36, being the oldest competitor in the event.

Career

He won three individual medals at the 2005 Mediterranean Games. He has represented Greece at five consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000. In 2011 he became world champion in the 10 km open water at the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Shanghai. Gianniotis also claimed gold at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships 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 ...

in the men's 10 km open water swimming. At 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), ...

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 ...

Gianniotis took the 5th place in the 1500 m freestyle and the 7th place at 400 m freestyle. At the 2012 Olympic Games in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he was 4th at the 10 km marathon swim, missing the bronze medal by 5 seconds.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gianniotis, Spyridon 1980 births Living people Male long-distance swimmers Greek male swimmers Greek male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Greece Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for Greece Olympic silver medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Greece Swimmers at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Swimmers at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming European Open Water Swimming Championships medalists Sportspeople from Liverpool