Tokyo Olympics: Greek Athletes Make it to Long Jump, Pole Vault Finals

Greek athletes Miltos Tentoglou and Manolis Karalis have made it to the final round of the long jump and pole vault events, respectively, at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tentoglou qualified for the finals in the long jump event on Saturday. The Greek athlete ranked second amongst his competitors in the qualifying event with a terrific jump of 8.22 meters, which is about 27 feet.

His personal best is a height of 8.60 meters, or 28 feet, 2.5 inches, which he achieved in 2021. In 2018, the Greek athlete won gold at the European Championships.

Tentoglou will have a chance to compete for a medal at the long jump finals on Monday, August 2, at 4:20 AM Greek time.

Tokyo Olympics a first for Greek athlete Manolis Karalis

Greek pole vaulter Manolis Karalis will also be moving to the finals in his sport. With an astounding height of 5.75 meters, or just under 19 feet, Karalis will represent Greece at the final round of the event.

This is the 21-year-old’s first time at the Olympic Games. Son of a Greek father and Ugandan mother, Karalis has consistently ranked highly in youth competitions across Europe.

Stefanos Ntouskos wins first gold medal for Greece at Tokyo Olympics

Greek athlete Stefanos Ntouskos won the gold medal at men’s single sculls in rowing at the Tokyo Olympics.

This is the 24-year-old competitive rower’s first medal at the Olympic Games and it is Greece’s first Olympic rowing gold medal, as well as it’s first medal of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Ntouskos had also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men’s lightweight coxless four, finishing in the sixth place.

Ntouskos pulled off a breathtaking Olympic stunner, setting a new record at the Games with his time of 6:40.45. Norway’s Kjetil Borch finished one second after Ntouskos to take the silver medal, and Croatia’s Martin Damir trailed Borch for the bronze.

Ntouskos pulled ahead during the third quarter of the race and sustained his pace for a glorious 250-meter-run that ended in his smashing of the Olympic men’s single sculls record.

Despite Greece’s previous drought of Olympic rowing medals, a new generation of Greek talent are showing that Greece can become a dominating presence in the aquatic sport.

Greek rowers break world record

Greece’s rowing athletes Maria Kyridou and Christina Bourbou made history on Wednesday at the Tokyo Olympics after breaking the world record in the semi-finals of the Women’s coxless pair category.

The Greek duo finished at 6:48.70, making history as this was the fastest time in the world in this event.

The previous world record was 6:49.08, held by the New Zealand duo of Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler, who had competed in the final round of the Women’s Pair category at the Rowing World Cup II event that was held in Poznan, Poland in 2017.

However, during the second semi-finals of Wednesday, the world record that had just been achieved by the Greek athletes, was broken yet again — this time by the team from New Zealand.

Prendergast and Gowler managed to break the record of Kyridou and Bourbou, finishing at an impressive 6:47.41, which is 1.29 seconds faster than the time the Greek rowers had just set.