Top 19 of 2019
It was a year to remember for Greek sports, and AGONAsport counts down the top 19 Greek sporting highlights of 2019.
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19. GREEK YOUNGSTERS EXCELLING IN CYCLING AND TABLE TENNIS
Cycling and table tennis are two sports that Greece does not traditionally do well in, but that is changing. Teenage cyclist Konstantinos Livanos won two gold medals at the 2019 European Junior Championships, and then another two gold medals at the 2019 Junior World Championships. In table tennis, Ioannis Sgouropoulos won gold at the 2019 U21 European Championships.
18. GREEK VOLLEYBALL’S REVIVAL
With Greece’s men’s and women’s volleyball teams both qualifying for the 2019 European Championships, it was the first time since 2009 that the men were competing in a major tournament, and the first time since 2004 for the women. The national volleyball teams exceeded expectations at the European Championships, with both reaching the knockout stages.
17. KARATE SUCCESS FOR GREECE
After winning gold at the 2018 World Championships, Eleni Chatziliadou took silver at the 2019 European Championships. Later in the year, Stefanos Xenos won gold at the U21 World Championships, and Konstantina Chrysopoulou won silver at the U18 World Championships. With karate being added to the Olympics for the first time in 2020, things are looking good for Greece.
16. STRONG SEASON FOR SAKKARI
Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari had her best year to date in 2019. She won her first WTA title at the Morocco Open, reached the quarterfinals or better at five other tournaments, defeated five top-10 opponents throughout the year, and qualified for the season-ending WTA Elite Trophy. Sakkari also reached the second round or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in her career. Additionally, she finished the year ranked 23 in the world after starting it at number 41.
15. GKOUNTOURA MAKES HISTORY IN HUNGARY
Greek fencer Theodora Gkountoura won bronze in the women’s sabre at the 2019 World Championships in Budapest. With that medal, she became the first Greek (male or female) to ever win a medal at the World Fencing Championships.
14. TELIKOSTOGLOU WINS SILVER AT WORLD TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Greece’s Apostolos Telikostoglou won a surprise silver medal in the men’s 80 kg (welterweight) event at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester, which was Greece’s first medal at the World Taekwondo Championships since 2015.
13. EUROPEAN MEDALS FOR THREE VETERANS
Konstantinos Baniotis, Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, and Paraskevi Papachristou all won medals at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Baniotis took silver in the men’s high jump, winning his first medal in a major competition at 32 years of age. Kyriakopoulou won bronze in the women’s pole vault, winning her first medal at an indoor major competition in her career, also at 32 years of age. Papachristou was a silver medalist in the women’s triple jump, giving the then 29-year-old her fifth major competition medal in three years. Unfortunately, all three athletes would struggle with injuries later in the year, and they each missed significant portions of the outdoor season as a result.
12. SOLID SEASON FOR ANNA KORAKAKI
Greek shooter Anna Korakaki continued to impress in 2019. In the 10 m air pistol event, she finished the year ranked number one in the world after winning silver at both the European Championships and the European Games. In the 25 m pistol event, she finished the year ranked number eight in the world after winning gold at the European Games.
11. GREEK SWIMMING ON THE RISE
Greek swimmers achieved many great feats throughout 2019. At the World Championships in South Korea, Kristian Gkolomeev won a historic silver medal in the men’s 50 m freestyle. Teenage sensation Apostolos Papastamos won gold in both the men’s 200 m individual medley and the men’s 400 m individual medley at the European Junior Championships, where Arkadios-Georgios Aspougalis also took bronze in the men’s 50 m breaststroke. Then, Papastamos broke the world junior record to win gold in the men’s 400 m individual medley at the World Junior Championships in Russia, while also winning bronze there in the men’s 200 m individual medley.
At the European Short Course Swimming Championships, Andreas Vazaios set a new European record to win gold in the men’s 200 m individual medley. Vazaios also won gold in the men’s 200 m butterfly and bronze in the men’s 100 m individual medley, and Anna Ntountounaki won bronze in the women’s 100 m butterfly.
10. ACHIEVEMENTS BY TRACK AND FIELD AND ROWING YOUNGSTERS
Greece won a plethora of medals at major competitions for the junior and youth categories in these two sports. In track and field, Greece won two medals (one gold and one silver) at the European U23 Championships, and four medals (one gold, one silver, and two bronze) at the European U20 Championships. Additionally, Elina Tzengko broke the U18 world record in the women’s javelin throw in May, at just 16 years of age.
In rowing, Greece won three medals (two silver and one bronze) at the European Junior Championships, four medals (two gold, one silver, and one bronze) at the World U23 Championships, and seven medals (three gold, two silver, and two bronze) at the European U23 Championships. It should be noted that many of the athletes winning medals for Greece at both the World and European U23 Championships were teenagers, some even as young as 16 and 17. Leading the way were Christina Bourmpou and the Kyridou sisters (Anneta and Maria), as the girls from Thessaloniki won gold medals at both the World U23 Championships and the European U23 Championships in 2019. Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou also qualified for the 2020 Olympics in the women’s pair, and the teenagers will likely be the youngest crew in Tokyo.
9. OLYMPIACOS REACH EUROPA LEAGUE KNOCKOUT STAGES
Olympiacos marched on to the UEFA Europa League knockout stages in dramatic fashion after defeating Red Star Belgrade 1-0 on the final matchday of UEFA Champions League group stage action. The Erythrolefki knew that only victory would do at the fiery Karaiskakis Stadium to leapfrog Red Star into third place in the standings and subsequently earn a ticket to the UEFA Europa League knockout stages.
After a dominant display by the Greeks, It was an 87th-minute El Arabi penalty that gave Olympiacos the valuable victory. Despite being placed in an extremely tough group, Olympiacos finished in third place with four points, ahead of Red Star (three points), and behind Bayern Munich (18 points) and Tottenham (10 points). Olympiacos will have a tough task ahead as they will face Arsenal in the Round of 32 of the Europa League.
8. OLYMPIACOS WATER POLO: SECOND IN EUROPE FOR MEN AND WOMEN
In 2019, Olympiacos’ men’s and women’s water polo teams finished second in Europe’s premier competitions. The men, who were the defending champions in the LEN Champions League, reached the final before losing on penalties to Hungary’s FTC Telekom Budapest. The Olympiacos women’s team lost 13-11 in the final of the LEN Euro League Women to Spain’s Sabadell. Although neither team won the title, the fact that both teams finished second in Europe is a massive achievement in itself.
7. TREMENDOUS TENTOGLOU ON TOP
Long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou had a fantastic 2019 season. He won gold at the European Indoor Championships with a jump of 8.38 metres, which was the biggest indoor jump in the world for the year, and a new Greek national indoor record. During the outdoor season, he won gold at the European U23 Championships with a jump of 8.32 metres, which was the longest jump in Europe for the year. He was also one of three Greek athletes to win gold at the 2019 European Team Championships, doing so with a jump of 8.30 metres.
6. DOMESTIC DOUBLE FOR PITINO’S PANATHINAIKOS
Under the leadership of legendary American coach Rick Pitino, Panathinaikos BC won their 37th Greek Basket League title, and their 19th Greek Cup. This was the 12th time that Panathinaikos BC won the Greek double.
In the Basket League finals, Panathinaikos swept the league’s surprise package, Promitheas, in the best of five series. Earlier in the season, the Greens defeated PAOK in the Cup Final by a narrow 99-93 scoreline.
5. WATER POLO WORLD (JUNIOR) CHAMPIONS
Greece won a second consecutive gold medal at this year’s Men’s Junior (U20) Water Polo World Championships, which was the tenth international competition won by a Greek national water polo team over the past eight years. Greece also won bronze at the 2019 Women’s European U15 Water Polo Championships, which was the inaugural edition of that competition. With medals for youth national teams of both genders, the future of Greek water polo looks very bright.
4. THE SUMMER OF STEFANIDI
Greek pole vaulter Ekaterini Stefanidi failed to win a medal at the European Indoor Championships, snapping a streak of seven consecutive major international competitions (dating back to 2015) with a medal. Despite that, Stefanidi came back strong in the summer outdoor season. She won a gold for Greece at the European Team Championships, and won the Diamond League for the fourth consecutive year. She then won bronze at the World Championships in Qatar, in what was regarded as the best women’s pole vault competition ever.
3. INVINCIBLE PAOK FC WIN HISTORIC DOUBLE
PAOK FC made history in 2019 by winning their first league title since 1985, and their third overall. The Dikefalos tou Vorra became just the second team ever in the Greek First Division to win the league title without tasting a single defeat. Panathinaikos first achieved this feat during the 1963/1964 season. PAOK finished the 2018/19 Super League campaign with 26 wins and four losses from their 30 games.
In addition, they won the Greek Cup for the third year in a row, and for the seventh time overall. It was a repeat of the 2017 and 2018 finals as PAOK and AEK clashed in the showpiece event yet again. A goal in first-half stoppage time from PAOK’s Chuba Akpom separated the sides at the final whistle. This was the first time in the Thessaloniki club’s history that they won the domestic double.
2. TSITSIPAS’ TREMENDOUS 2019
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ 2019 season was one to remember, as the Greek tennis player rose from 15 to 6 in the ATP rankings (while also spending one week at number five). Tsitsipas won three titles in 2019, including the ATP Finals in London, where he beat four top 8 opponents within a week. Tsitsipas also reached three other tournament finals in 2019. In total, he earned nine wins over top 10 opponents this year, including two wins over Roger Federer, and one over both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. At the majors, the Greek’s best result was reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.
1. GREEK FREAK = NBA MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo was named MVP of the 2018/19 NBA season. He led the Milwaukee Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals. During the season, he averaged a double-double with 27.7 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Additionally, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and to the All-NBA Defensive First Team. Antetokounmpo was also an NBA All-Star, receiving the most votes of anyone in the entire Eastern Conference.
