Gold Medalist in women’s pole vault, Katerina Stefanidi, arrived in Athens on Wednesday afternoon following her Olympic victory. Representatives of the Greek track and field association, SEGAS, greeted her at the Athens International Airport with flowers and a large sign that said “Thank you Katerina, you give us strength and inspire us.”
“It still hasn’t hit me,” said Stefanidi. “I am very happy for what I have achieved.”
“My husband believed more than I did. I am hoping to pass into a higher level in the Golden league. I hope that in those games I can do better than I have until now,” she said.
“I didn’t realize what had happened and only understood when my husband started celebrating,” she said. “I hope that this medal will bring more kids to pole vault and track and field events in general.”
The Olympic victor did not mince her words. “You remember us every four years. We don’t compete every four years but many times in the same year,” she told journalists, referring to a critical article in leftist daily newspaper, Avgi. “What did you call that paper? Avgi? I don’t know it, nor have I ever heard of it,” she said in irony.
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