Decade Review: 15 World Championship titles this past decade

As the previous decade has just concluded, AGONAsport kicks off their “Decade in Review” series with Andrew Stamas looking back on the 15 World Championship titles won by Greece in Olympic events at the senior level over the last ten years.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV! 

In 2010, Greece won two World Championship titles. Judoka Ilias Iliadis won gold in the men’s 90 kg event at the World Championships in Tokyo. This gave Iliadis the first World Championship gold medal of his career, after previously winning two World Championship silvers as well as an Olympic gold medal. Then, Eleftherios Kosmidis took gold in the men’s floor exercise at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the Netherlands.

2011 was a very successful year for Greece, with four World Championship titles in four different sports. First, swimmer Spyros Gianniotis won gold in the men’s 10 km marathon swim (open water) at the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. Just over a week later, the Greek women’s national water polo team also won gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. Later that summer, Iliadis went to Paris where he successfully defended his World Judo Championships title from 2010. Finally, rowers Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou were gold medalists at the World Rowing Championships in Slovenia in the women’s lightweight double sculls, an event in which the Greek duo had also won gold in back in 2009.

Few sports held World Championships in 2012 due to the London Olympics, but Greece would win another World Championship title in 2013, as Gianniotis defended his title from Shanghai in Barcelona.

In 2014, Konstantinos Filippidis won gold in the men’s pole vault at the World Indoor Championships in Poland. That summer, Iliadis won gold at the World Judo Championships in Russia, becoming a world champion for the third time in four years.

In 2015, Eleftherios Petrounias won gold in the men’s rings at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the United Kingdom. Like 2012, 2016 also saw few sports having World Championships due to it being an Olympic year.

Following up on her gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, pole vaulter Ekaterini Stefanidi won gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London. Two months later, fellow 2016 Olympic gold medalist Petrounias successfully defended his World Championship title from 2015, winning gold at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Montreal.

In 2018, shooter Anna Korakaki (also a 2016 Olympic gold medalist) won gold in the 10 m air pistol at the World Championships in South Korea. Petrounias then won his third consecutive world title in the men’s rings at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Qatar. Finally, Eleni Chatziliadou became the last Greek world champion of the decade. Chatziliadou won gold in the women’s kumite +68 kg at the 2018 World Karate Championships in Madrid.

With 15 World Championship gold medals across eight different sports, the 2010s were a good decade for Greek sports. It must be noted that this does not include World Championship titles at junior/youth events or in non-Olympic events, otherwise the number of World Championship titles would be far greater than 15.

2010-2019’S GREEK WORLD CHAMPIONS BY SPORT:

ATHLETICS (TRACK AND FIELD):

Konstantinos Filippidis - 2014 Sopot - men’s pole vault (indoor)

Ekaterini Stefanidi - 2017 London - women’s pole vault

GYMNASTICS:

Eleftherios Kosmidis - 2010 Rotterdam - men’s floor exercise

Eleftherios Petrounias - 2015 Glasgow - men’s rings

Eleftherios Petrounias - 2017 Montreal - men’s rings

Eleftherios Petrounias - 2018 Doha - men’s rings

JUDO:

Ilias Iliadis - 2010 Tokyo - men’s 90 kg

Ilias Iliadis - 2011 Paris - men’s 90 kg

Ilias Iliadis - 2014 Chelyabinsk - men’s 90 kg

KARATE:

Eleni Chatziliadou - 2018 Madrid - women’s kumite +68 kg

ROWING:

Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou - 2011 Bled - women’s lightweight double sculls

SHOOTING:

Anna Korakaki - 2018 Changwon - women’s 10 m air pistol

SWIMMING:

Spyros Gianniotis - 2011 Shanghai - men’s 10 km open water

Spyros Gianniotis - 2013 Barcelona - men’s 10 km open water

WATER POLO:

Greek national team - 2011 Shanghai - women’s water polo

by Andrew Stamas

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!