Best Youth Olympics Ever for Greece
Best Youth Olympics Ever for Greece
The third Summer Youth Olympics took place in Buenos Aires, with Greece winning six medals including three golds.
October 9 was a historic day for the Greek team, as they won their first-ever Youth Olympics gold medal. 17-year-olds Christina Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou, both of Thessaloniki, captured the gold in rowing in the girls’ pair event. This capped off a memorable year for the duo, as they had also won gold in the World Junior Championships and European U23 Championships. On that same day, Fani Tzeli also won a bronze medal in taekwondo, in the girls’ 55 kg division.
Throughout the next week, Greece would continue to haul in medals. Sailor Alexandros Kalpogiannakis won gold in the boys’ techno 293 event, while javelin thrower Elina Tzengko took the gold in her event. After not winning any gold medals in the previous two Youth Olympics, Greece now won three in Buenos Aires.
Swimmer Savvas Thomoglou’s silver medal in the boys’ 200 m breaststroke, as well as Olga Fiaska’s bronze medal in the girls’ 5 km walk added to Greece’s medal tally. Greece would end with three golds, one silver, and two bronzes for a total of six medals. This placed Greece 23rd in the overall medal table, where Russia finished first with 58 medals including 29 golds. Greek gymnast Antonia Sakellaridou was part of a multinational team that won bronze in the mixed multi-discipline team event, although that medal does not count towards Greece’s overall medal tally. Six medals overall would be Greece’s most, as Greece had only won two silvers in Nanjing 2014, and one silver and three bronzes in Singapore 2010. As this was by far the best-ever showing from Greece in the Youth Olympics, that is a very positive sign for the future of Greek sports.
A complete list of Greece’s 2018 Summer Youth Olympics medalists:
ATHLETICS:
Gold: Elina Tzengko (Girls’ javelin throw)
Bronze: Olga Fiaska (Girls’ 5 km walk)
ROWING:
Gold: Christina Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou (Girls’ pair)
SAILING:
Gold: Alexandros Kalpogiannakis (Boys’ techno 293)
SWIMMING:
Silver: Savvas Thomoglou (Boys’ 200 m breaststroke)
TAEKWONDO:
Bronze: Fani Tzeli (Girls’ 55 kg)
by Andrew Stamas
Image Source: gazzetta.gr
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