Greek athletes delivered standout performances in track and field and swimming, showing that the country’s sporting talent has a rare kind of mettle of its own.
Some medals are measured in gold, silver and bronze. Others reflect a different kind of mettle: perseverance, discipline, endurance and countless hours of training.
Greek athletes turned all of those qualities into major achievements in track and field and swimming, reaching the podium and adding new successes to the country’s sporting record.
But Greece’s performance was about more than medals. The country had numerous competitors in Paris and Birmingham, many of whom reached the finals, battling until the last attempt or final stroke for a place on the podium.
In several cases, Greece came within touching distance of another medal, underlining the country’s strong overall showing at both championships.
European Swimming Championships: Christou and Siskos Lead Greece
In Paris, Greece has won three swimming medals, with Apostolos Siskos and Apostolos Christou delivering the standout performances.
Apostolos Siskos opened Greece’s medal account. The 21-year-old claimed silver in the 200-meter backstroke before returning to the podium to take bronze in the 200-meter butterfly, setting a Greek national record of 1:54.13. His two medals in Paris bring his career total at the European Championships to three, following his silver medal in Belgrade in 2024.
The biggest success, however, came Sunday, when Apostolos Christou won gold in the 100-meter backstroke. The Greek champion finished in 52.27 seconds, beating Thomas Ceccon by just one-hundredth of a second in a thrilling final.
Christou had already competed in another final, finishing fourth in the 50-meter backstroke and narrowly missing out on a medal.
Anna Ntountounaki also delivered a strong performance, reaching the 100-meter butterfly final and finishing fourth in 57.10 seconds. The Greek champion had earlier set a major national record of 56.99 in the semifinals but was unable to cap her performance with a medal.
Georgia Damasioti also competed in the same final, finishing eighth.
Another of the Greek team’s standout performers was Artemis Vasilaki. The young swimmer made three final appearances, finishing fourth in the 800-meter freestyle with an impressive Greek national record of 8:26.38 and seventh in the 1,500-meter freestyle in 16:21.26, while also competing in the 400-meter freestyle final. In the 1,500 meters, she had previously broken the national record with a time of 16:13.81.
European Athletics Championships: Tentoglou and Karalis Deliver Again
At the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, Greece also celebrated medals, with Miltos Tentoglou winning long jump gold and adding another European title to his extensive collection.
Emmanouil Karalis added Greece’s second medal, taking silver in the pole vault. The Greek champion battled Mondo Duplantis until the end, remaining in contention for the top spot and once again confirming his place among the event’s elite.
Antigoni Drisbioti also produced an impressive performance in the marathon race walk. At the age of 42, she finished fourth in 3:22:16, setting a personal best. In the same race, Panagiota Tsinopoulou also delivered a strong performance, finishing fifth with a new personal best of 3:25:14.
At 44 years old, Dimitris Tsiamis added another milestone to his career by competing in his fifth European Championship final. He finished eighth in the triple jump, with a best mark of 16.27 meters.
Christos Frantzeskakis competed in the men’s hammer throw final, finishing 10th with 75.72 meters, while Stamatia Scarvelis recorded the best European Championship performance of her career, taking seventh in the women’s hammer throw final with 69.54 meters.
Greece had two athletes in the men’s high jump final, with Antonis Merlos and Andreas Mitas sharing 11th place after both failed to clear 2.23 meters.
Dimitris Tsitsos also reached the javelin final and finished the championships in 12th place, while Dimitris Pavlidis qualified for the discus final in his first major senior competition, finishing eighth.
Greece’s men’s 4×100-meter relay team also reached the final, eventually finishing sixth in Europe and further adding to the country’s tally of final appearances.
Elina Tzengko also competed in the women’s javelin final, with the Greek champion finishing 11th, marking yet another Greek appearance in a championship final.
