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 ...

competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Greek athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, alongside Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland. As the progenitor nation of the Olympic Games and in keeping with tradition, Greece entered first at the Maracanã Stadium during the opening ceremony. 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 ...

confirmed a roster of 93 athletes, 56 men and 37 women, to compete across 15 sports at the Games, the smallest in Summer Olympic history since 1992. Aquatic sports constituted the largest number of athletes on the Greek team, with a combined total of 29 entries (14 in swimming, 2 in synchronized swimming, and 13 in men's water polo). There was a single competitor each in archery, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, table tennis, weightlifting, and

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 ...

. The Greek roster featured 36 returning Olympians, with archer

Evangelia Psarra Evangelia Psarra ( el, Ευαγγελία Ψάρρα; born June 17, 1974 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek archer who has competed at the Summer Olympics six times from 2000 to 2020. Career At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Psarra entered the women's competi ...

(the oldest member of the team, aged 42) and long-distance swimmer and double world open water 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 ...

headed to their fifth consecutive Games as the most experienced competitors. Five Greek athletes vied for their fourth Olympic appearance, including table tennis player

Panagiotis Gionis Panagiotis Gionis (born 7 January 1980) is a Greek table tennis player and a dentist. He is a member in the Greece National Team and has competed in 4 Olympics and many World and European Championships. He has been playing professionally in Germa ...

, gymnast

Vlasios Maras Vlasios Maras ( el, Βλάσης Μάρας, born 31 March 1983 in Athens) is a Greek gymnast. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was a favorite in the horizontal bar competition but failed to qualify for the final after finishing 13th in the qual ...

, and judo legend

Ilias Iliadis Ilias Iliadis ( el, Ηλίας Ηλιάδης, born Jarji Zviadauri, ka, ჯარჯი ზვიადაური, on 10 November 1986) is a Georgian-born Greek judoka. He was named the 2014 Greek Male Athlete of the Year. He won a gold me ...

(all of whom started as members of the host nation team in Athens 2004). Sailor and two-time medalist Sofia Bekatorou, who raced alongside her partner

Michail Pateniotis Mike Pateniotis (born 5 February 1984) is a Greek sailor. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 49er class, finishing in 20th place. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Nacra 17 Mixed event. His partner was Sofia Bekatorou ...

in the Nacra 17 class, created Summer Olympic history as the nation's first ever female flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Greece returned home from Rio de Janeiro with six medals (three gold, one silver, and two bronze), a vast improvement on the nation's overall medal tally from the 2012 Summer Olympics 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 ...

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 ...

accomplished a historic feat as the first Greek athlete to earn multiple medals at a single Olympics since 1912, with a gold and a bronze in women's pistol shooting. The gold medal was the first one for Greece after a 12-year drought. Two other golds were awarded to gymnast

Eleftherios Petrounias Eleftherios "Lefteris" Petrounias ( gr, Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Πετρούνιας; born 30 November 1990, Athens) is a Greek artistic gymnast. He is the 2016 Olympic champion, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, three-time World ch ...

in the men's rings, and pole vaulter

Ekaterini Stefanidi Katerina Stefanidi (Greek: Κατερίνα Στεφανίδη; born 4 February 1990) is a Greek pole vaulter. She won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a jump of 4.85 meters and has also competed at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo ...

, the first for Greece in the track and field after 12 years. Gianniotis enjoyed the final race of his swimming career with a runner-up finish in the open water marathon, while

Panagiotis Mantis Panagiotis Mantis (born 30 September 1981) is a Greek competitive sailor. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the men's 470, along with Pavlos Kagialis, winning the bronze medal. Mantis and Kagialis also won the bro ...

and Pavlos Kagialis handed the Greeks their eighth Olympic medal in sailing, obtaining the bronze in the men's 470 class.

Medalists

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Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games:

Archery

Greece has received a spare Olympic berth freed up by Ivory Coast to send a female archer to the Olympics, as the Ivorian National Olympic Committee decided to withdraw its entry after the deadline. The berth was officially awarded to four-time Olympian

Athletics

Greek athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women ;Field events ;Men ;Women ;Combined events –

Women's heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

Cycling

Road

Greece has qualified one rider in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of his top 200 individual ranking in the

2015 UCI Europe Tour The 2015 UCI Europe Tour was the eleventh season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2015 season began on 29 January 2015 with the Vuelta a Mallorca, Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and ended on 25 October 2015 with the Tour of Aegean. The points le ...

Track

Following the completion of the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Greece has entered one rider to compete in the men's keirin at the Olympics, by virtue of his final individual UCI Olympic ranking in that event. ;Keirin

Mountain biking

Greece has qualified one mountain biker for the men's Olympic cross-country race, as a result of his nation's twenty-first-place finish in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of May 25, 2016.

Fencing

Greece has entered one fencer into the Olympic competition. 2012 Olympian

Vassiliki Vougiouka Vassiliki Vougiouka ( el, Βασιλική Βουγιούκα; born 20 June 1986, in Cholargos, Athens, Greece), often known as Vaso Vougiouka (Βάσω Βουγιούκα), is a Greek female sabre fencer, silver medallist in the 2012 and 2013 E ...

claimed a spot in the women's sabre as one of the two highest-ranked fencers coming from the Europe zone in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings. Meanwhile, Aikaterini Kontochristopoulou rounded out the Greek roster by finishing among the top four individual fencers in the women's foil at the European Zonal Qualifier in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Gymnastics

Artistic

Greece has entered two artistic gymnasts into the Olympic competition.

won the gold medal in the men's rings to book his Olympic spot at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, and was later joined by three-time Olympian

and

Vasiliki Millousi Vasiliki Millousi ( el, Βασιλική Μιλλούση; born 4 May 1984 in Athens) is a Greek artistic gymnast. She is a ten-time World Cup Series medalist on beam and has represented Greece at the 2000, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games. She occas ...

, who both claimed the men's and women's individual all-around spot, respectively at the Olympic Test Event in

. ;Men ;Women

Rhythmic

Greece has qualified one rhythmic gymnast for the individual all-around by finishing in the top 15 at the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. A team of five rhythmic gymnasts were added to the Greek roster by claiming one of the three available Olympic spots in the group all-around at the Olympic Test Event in

Judo

Greece has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Roman Moustopoulos and double Olympic medalist

were ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Rowing

Greece has qualified two boats for each of the following rowing classes into the Olympic regatta. Rowers competing in the men's four and women's single sculls confirmed Olympic places for their boats at the 2015 FISA World Championships in

Lac d'Aiguebelette Lac d'Aiguebelette is a natural lake in the commune of Aiguebelette-le-Lac, within the department of Savoie, France. Geography Description With a surface area of 5.45 km2 and a depth of 71 meters it is one of the largest natural lakes of F ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. On July 26, 2016, the men's lightweight four berth was awarded to the Greek rowing team, as a response to the removal of four boats held by the Russians from

FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...

due to their previous doping bans and their implications in the "disappearing positive methodology" set out in the McClaren Report on Russia's state-sponsored doping. ;Men ;Women Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

Greek sailors have qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the

2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, was held in Santander, Spain, this was the fourth edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. What gives this event ...

, the individual fleet Worlds, and European qualifying regattas. The majority of the sailing crews, led by London 2012 fourth-place finalist

Byron Kokkalanis Byron Kokkalanis ( el, Βύρων Κοκκαλάνης; born 19 August 1985 in Athens), also spelled Vyron, is a Greek windsurfer of partly Filipino ancestry. He started sailing in 1997 in the Mistral class and 3 years later he won the ...

(RS:X) and Beijing 2008 bronze medalist Sofia Bekatorou, along with her new partner

(Nacra 17), were named to the Greek team, following the completion of the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta. Meanwhile, London 2012 Olympian Ioannis Mitakis rounded out the Greek selection at the 2016 Finn Gold Cup. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

Shooting

Greek shooters have achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the

2015 ISSF World Cup The 2015 ISSF World Cup is the annual edition of the ISSF World Cup in the ISSF shooting events, Olympic shooting events, governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation. Men's results Rifle events Pistol events Shotgun events Wo ...

series, and European Championships or Games, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Greek swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)): ;Men ;Women

Synchronized swimming

Greece has fielded a squad of two synchronized swimmers to compete only in the women's duet by virtue of their fourth-place finish at the FINA Olympic test event in

Table tennis

Greece has entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games.

secured one of ten available Olympic spots to confirm his fourth consecutive appearance in the men's singles by winning the group final match at the European Qualification Tournament in Halmstad, Sweden.

Water polo

;Summary

Men's tournament

The Greek men's water polo team qualified for the Olympics, after winning the bronze medal in the men's tournament at the 2015 FINA World Championships in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal ---- ;Classification semifinal (5–8) ---- ;Fifth place match

Weightlifting

Greece has received an unused quota place from IWF to send a male weightlifter to the Olympics.

Wrestling

Greece has qualified one wrestler for the women's freestyle 53 kg into the Olympic competition as a result of her semifinal triumph at the

initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

meet of the World Qualification Tournament in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

. ;Women's freestyle

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Greece, Olympics Olympics

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics