Greece begins its campaign at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun on Friday, March 20, with a small but ambitious team of seven athletes, headed by Olympic medalists Emmanouil Karalis and Miltiadis Tentoglou, both of whom travel to Poland with realistic hopes of reaching the podium.
The first Greek athlete in action will be Andreas Pantazis in Friday night’s men’s triple jump final, but the spotlight will fall most sharply on Karalis and Tentoglou, the country’s two proven championship performers.
Karalis enters the men’s pole vault in the form of his life after soaring to 6.17m at the Greek national championships in Paiania, the second-best indoor clearance in history behind only Armand Duplantis’s 6.31m. The performance underlined not only his outstanding condition but also his growing belief that he can challenge the sport’s biggest name.
Despite a modest 5.80m outing in Uppsala earlier this month, the Greek vaulter remains firmly among the leading contenders, with Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen the next-best performer in the field this season at 6.06m.
Tentoglou, meanwhile, returns to defend the world indoor long jump titles he won in 2022 and 2024. The Greek star may not arrive with the leading mark, but his championship pedigree remains unmatched.
Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Saraboyukov tops the seasonal rankings with 8.45m, while Italy’s Mattia Furlani has reached 8.39m and Portugal’s Gerson Balde 8.32m. Tentoglou’s best of 8.27m leaves him fourth on paper, but few in the field can match his consistency, composure and proven ability to deliver under pressure.
Beyond the two headline names, Greece will also look for strong performances from Anastasia Dragomirova in the pentathlon and Antonis Merlos in the high jump, while Christos Panagiotis Roumtsios and Rafaela Spanoudaki will aim to progress through the sprint hurdles and 60 meters respectively.
It is not a large Greek team, but it is one built around athletes capable of making an impact. And with Karalis in record-breaking form and Tentoglou once again chasing gold, Greece arrives in Torun with genuine medal expectations.
Greek schedule
Friday, March 20
8:35 pm – Men’s Triple Jump Final: Andreas Pantazis
Saturday, March 21
11:20 am – Men’s 60m Hurdles heats: Christos Panagiotis Roumtsios
12:05 pm – Women’s 60m heats: Rafaela Spanoudaki
1:15 pm – Men’s High Jump Final: Antonis Merlos
7:25 pm – Men’s Pole Vault Final: Emmanouil Karalis
8:48 pm – Men’s 60m Hurdles semi-finals: Roumtsios (if qualified)
9:14 pm – Women’s 60m semi-finals: Spanoudaki (if qualified)
10:02 pm – Men’s 60m Hurdles Final: Roumtsios (if qualified)
10:20 pm – Women’s 60m Final: Spanoudaki (if qualified)
Sunday, March 22
11:05 am – Pentathlon 60m Hurdles: Anastasia Dragomirova
11:43 am – Pentathlon High Jump: Anastasia Dragomirova
2:21 pm – Pentathlon Shot Put: Anastasia Dragomirova
6:40 pm – Pentathlon Long Jump: Anastasia Dragomirova
9:03 pm – Pentathlon 800m: Anastasia Dragomirova
9:12 pm – Men’s Long Jump Final: Miltiadis Tentoglou
