Greek Rower Stefanos Ntouskos Advances to Tokyo Finals

Greek professional rower Stefanos Ntouskos qualified for the finals in men’s single sculls on Thursday finishing first in his Semi-final A/B 2 category for the Tokyo Olympics.

Ntouskos performed brilliantly and finished at 06:41:61, leaving Sverri Sandberg Nielsen of Denmark second, and Alexander Vyazovkin of the Russian Olympic Committee third.

The 24-year old from Ioannina was second at the first 500 meters; however, right after that, his speed skyrocketed, leaving everyone behind.

Ntouskos will compete in the final on Friday at 00:45 GMT, along with Nielsen, Vyazovkin, as well as Kjetil Borch of Norway, Damir Martin of Croatia, and Mindaugas Griškonis of Lithuania, who qualified after their performance in the Semi-final A/B 1 category.

Greek Rowers Kyridou, Bourbou, Who Broke World Record, Finish 5th

Maria Kyridou and Christina Bourbou, who made history on Wednesday at the Tokyo Olympics after breaking the world record in the semifinals of the Women’s coxless pair category, did not manage to bring an Olympic medal back home.

The Greek duo, who participated in the finals held in the early hours of Thursday, finished fifth, behind the British pair of Glover and Swan.

Kyridou and Bourbou’s time was 06:57:11.

The gold medal was taken by the team of Prendergast and Gowler of New Zealand, which broke the world record as well during the semifinals on Wednesday.

The silver medal was won by the Russian Olympic Committee‘s Stepanova and Orianbiskaia, and the bronze medal was earned by the Canadian team of Janssens and Filmer.

Shooter Anna Korakaki Finishes Second in Qualification Round

Greek Olympian and perennial champion Anna Korakkaki showed great determination and performed very well during the qualification precision round of women’s 25m pistol in Tokyo.

Korakkaki, who had won a gold medal in the 25 m pistol and a bronze medal in the 10 m air pistol in the games at Rio in 2016, scored 294/300 points, behind Serbia’s Zorana Arunović, who scored 296/300.

Korakaki’s participation in the final will be determined in tomorrow’s qualification rapid round, which is going to take place at midnight GMT on Friday.

However, today’s performance promises a great deal, as Korakaki seems to be ready to defend her gold medal from Rio.

If the Greek champion manages to be among the first eight after the second leg of tomorrow’s round, she will advance to the semifinals.

There, and after a total of five shots, she will have the opportunity to be among the three in the medal zone, giving her the chance to finish either third, second, or first.

Greece has high hopes for Korakaki. At the age of just 20 she became the first Greek woman to win two Olympic medals in the same competition and the first Greek athlete to achieve such an honor since the distant 1912.

Korakaki has been competing since 2009. She is a member of the Orion Shooting Club of Thessaloniki and she is coached by her father, the retired shooter Tassos Korakakis.

She is also an undergraduate student in Special Education at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki.