Sixteen Greeks set to compete in Doha
Despite missing Paraskevi Papachristou due to injury, Greece are sending a strong team to the 2019 World Athletics Championships, which includes the likes of Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Katerina Stefanidi, and Miltiadis Tentoglou.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!
A total of 16 athletes will be representing the Greek flag at the Championships in Qatar, which begin on Friday. Greece have won a total of 21 medals at the World Championships, dating back to 1983. However, Greece have only won two medals since 2003. Both of those medal winners, Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou and Katerina Stefanidi, are on this year’s team.
Kyriakopoulou and Stefanidi will be representing Greece in the women’s pole vault competition. Kyriakopoulou won bronze at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing but missed the 2017 Championships in London due to pregnancy. Stefanidi not only won gold in London but is also the current world number one in the event. Additionally, after recently winning her fourth consecutive Diamond League title, she has shown that she is in top form going into Doha. On the other hand, Kyriakopoulou is returning from injury and it remains to be seen how she will do in Doha. Despite that, her return from pregnancy has been extremely impressive so far, winning silver at last year’s European Championships, and bronze at this year’s European Indoor Championships.
In addition to having two female pole vaulters, Greece will also be sending two male pole vaulters to Doha. The experienced Konstantinos Filippidis will be going to the World Championships for the seventh time in his career, though he did not end up competing in 2017 at the last minute due to injury. His best result was a sixth place finish at the 2011 World Championships. In addition to that, he also won gold at the World Indoor Championships in 2014. Teenage sensation Emmanouil Karalis will be competing in his second World Championships. Karalis, who missed most of 2018 due to injury, has had a solid 2019 season so far. The 19-year-old finished fourth at this year’s European Indoor Championships and took silver at the European U23 Championships.
Long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou is another one of Greece’s top hopes for a medal in Qatar. Currently ranked fifth in the world, the 21-year-old from Grevena in Macedonia won gold at the last two major competitions he has competed in, at both the 2018 European Championships and the 2019 European Indoor Championships. Additionally, Tentoglou won gold this summer at both the European U23 Championships and the European Team Championships. With many gold medals at the continental level, many feel that it is time for Tentoglou to start doing the same at the world level.
Three hammer throwers will be representing Greece in Doha. In the men’s hammer throw, Michail Anastasakis will be making his second World Championships appearance, while 19-year-old Christos Frantzeskakis will be making his first. Also making her first appearance at a World Championships will be Stamatia Scarvelis, who will compete in the women’s hammer throw.
Greece will be sending three race walkers to Qatar. On the men’s side, Alexandros Papamichail will be competing in the 50 km walk. This marks the fourth time in Papamichail’s career that he is participating at the World Championships. On the women’s side, Angeliki Makri will take part in the 50 km walk, marking the major international competition debut for the 41-year-old from Patra. Antigoni Drisbioti will be competing in the women’s 20 km walk, appearing at the World Championships for the third time in her career.
Greece will also be sending three athletes to compete in track events. In the men’s 110 metres hurdles, Konstantinos Douvalidis will be making his sixth career World Championships appearance. In the women’s 400 metres, Irini Vasiliou will be participating in her second World Championships. Lastly, Rafailia Spanoudaki will be making her World Championships debut, as she will run in the women’s 200 metres.
Athens native Gloria Privileggio will be competing in her second World Championships, taking part in the women’s marathon. Rounding out the Greek team is discus thrower Chrysoula Anagnostopoulou, who will be participating in her third World Championships.
Star triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou would have been one of the main contenders to win a medal for Greece, but she is missing the event due to injury. This is a big loss for the Greek team, as Papachristou is currently fifth in the world rankings. She won medals at her last two major international competitions (gold at the 2018 European Championships and silver at the 2019 European Indoor Championships), and also won gold for Greece last month at the European Team Championships.
Also missing out on this year’s World Championships due to injury is high jumper Tatiana Gusin. Finally, hurdler Elisavet Pesiridou will also not be competing in Doha, despite being invited by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). This is because Pesiridou initially did not qualify, and subsequently began her off-season. Later on, she was notified by the IAAF that she was being invited to compete, but given her lack of training, Pesiridou opted out.
GREEK TEAM FOR THE 2019 WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Men:
100 metres hurdles: Konstantinos Douvalidis
50 km walk: Alexandros Papamichail
Pole vault: Konstantinos Filippidis, Emmanouil Karalis
Long jump: Miltiadis Tentoglou
Hammer throw: Michail Anastasakis, Christos Frantzeskakis
Women:
200 metres: Rafailia Spanoudaki
400 metres: Irini Vasiliou
Marathon: Gloria Privileggio
20 km walk: Antigoni Drisbioti
50 km walk: Angeliki Makri
Pole vault: Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Ekaterini Stefanidi
Discus throw: Chrysoula Anagnostopoulou
Hammer throw: Stamatia Scarvelis
