Twenty-six Greeks qualified for Tokyo Olympics

Although the Tokyo Olympics have been pushed back to 2021, AGONAsport looks at which Greek athletes have qualified so far.

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

To date, only 26 Greek athletes have qualified, although this number will surely multiply. In 2016, Greece sent 93 competitors, which happened to be the smallest Greek Summer Olympic team since 1992.

Seven Greek sailors have already qualified for the Games. Among them are defending bronze medalists Pavlos Kagialis and Panagiotis Mantis, who will be racing together in the men’s 470. Also qualified are Byron Kokkalanis (men’s RS:X), Ioannis Mitakis (men’s finn), Vasileia Karachaliou (women’s laser radial), and the duo of Maria Bozi and Rafailina Klonaridou (women’s 470).

Greece has also qualified seven swimmers for Tokyo thus far. These include Apostolos Christou (men’s 100 m backstroke), Konstantinos Englezakis (men’s 800 m freestyle), Kristian Gkolomeev (men’s 50 m freestyle), Anna Ntountounaki (women’s 100 m butterfly), Apostolos Papastamos (men’s 200 m individual medley and men’s 400 m individual medley), and Andreas Vazaios (men’s 200 m individual medley) in individual events. Greece has also qualified a team for the men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay, which as of now (subject to change) includes Christou, Ioannis Georgarakis, Gkolomeev, and Vazaios.

In athletics (track and field), Greece has qualified five athletes so far. Defending Olympic champion Ekaterini Stefanidi and Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou will compete in the women’s pole vault, while reigning European champions Paraskevi Papachristou (women’s triple jump) and Miltiadis Tentoglou (men’s long jump) have also already qualified. Race walker Antigoni Drisbioti has also qualified, and will be competing in the women’s 20 km walk.

In shooting, Anna Korakaki has qualified for two events (women’s 10 m air pistol and women’s 25 m pistol). At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, she won bronze in the 10 m air pistol, and gold in the 25 m pistol. In addition, Nikolaos Mavrommatis (men’s skeet) has also punched his ticket to Tokyo.

In cycling, Greece has qualified two riders in Polychronis Tzortzakis (men’s road race) and Christos Volikakis (men’s omnium).

Teenage rowers Christina Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou are set to represent Greece in the women’s pair, with the two having shown that they are arguably the most promising young rowers in the world at the moment.

Finally, wrestler Maria Prevolaraki (women’s -53 kg) is also headed to the Tokyo Olympics.

There will likely be other Greeks competing in each of the seven aforementioned sports in Tokyo, as qualification has not yet concluded. Additionally, the qualification period for various other sports has yet to begin, or is still ongoing. Based on world rankings in various sports in which the Olympic qualification period has not yet concluded, there are many Greek athletes that are almost certain to qualify for Tokyo. These include fencing’s Theodora Gkountoura, judo’s Georgios Azoidis, Alexios Ntanatsidis and Elisavet Teltsidou, tennis’ Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and track and field’s Chrysoula Anagnostopoulou, Michail Anastasakis, Konstantinos Douvalidis, Konstantinos Filippidis, Emmanouil Karalis, Elisavet Pesiridou, Eleni Polak, Stamatia Scarvelis, Rafailia Spanoudaki, Dimitrios Tsiamis, Panagiota Tsinopoulou and Irini Vasiliou. 

Greek sports fans can also hope for qualifications in team sports like men’s basketball, men’s and women’s water polo, as well as women’s women’s artistic swimming (both in the duet and team events) and women’s beach volleyball. Lastly, several of Greece’s top athletes are also hoping to qualify, including two-time Olympic sailing medalist Sofia Bekatorou, track star Maria Belibasaki, reigning karate world champion Eleni Chatziliadou, and defending Olympic gymnastics champion Eleftherios Petrounias. Archer Evangelia Psarra will be aiming to qualify for her sixth Olympics, and Greece will also seek more representation in various other sports. Greece currently has realistic chances to qualify athletes in sports such as boxing, canoeing, diving, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, table tennis, taekwondo, and weightlifting.

FULL LIST OF GREEK ATHLETES ALREADY QUALIFIED FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS

ATHLETICS (TRACK AND FIELD):

Antigoni Drisbioti (women’s 20 km walk)

Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou (women’s pole vault)

Paraskevi Papachristou (women’s triple jump)

Ekaterini Stefanidi (women’s pole vault)

Miltiadis Tentoglou (men’s long jump)

CYCLING:

Polychronis Tzortzakis (men’s road race)

Christos Volikakis (men’s omnium)

ROWING:

Christina Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou (women’s pair)

SAILING:

Maria Bozi and Rafailina Klonaridou (women’s 470)

Pavlos Kagialis and Panagiotis Mantis (men’s 470)

Vasileia Karachaliou (women’s laser radial)

Byron Kokkalanis (men’s RS:X)

Ioannis Mitakis (men’s finn)

SHOOTING:

Anna Korakaki (women’s 10 m air pistol and women’s 25 m pistol)

Nikolaos Mavrommatis (men’s skeet)

SWIMMING:

*Apostolos Christou (men’s 100 m backstroke and men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay)

Konstantinos Englezakis (men’s 800 m freestyle)

*Ioannis Georgarakis (men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay)

*Kristian Gkolomeev (men’s 50 m freestyle and men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay)

Anna Ntountounaki (women’s 100 m butterfly)

Apostolos Papastamos (men’s 200 m individual medley and men’s 400 m individual medley)

*Andreas Vazaios (men’s 200 m individual medley and men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay)

*Subject to change based on final team selection for men’s 4 x 100 m freestyle relay.

WRESTLING:

Maria Prevolaraki (women’s -53 kg)

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!