Greek Silver Medalist Becomes Example of Sportsmanship at Paralympics

Greek athlete Athanasios Prodromou was heralded not only for his silver medal in the men’s long jump event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday, but also for his sportsmanship and fair play in helping an injured competitor.

Prodomou’s jump of 7.17 m earned him the silver medal, the eleventh medal for Greece at the Tokyo Paralympics, and broke the athlete’s personal record.

Abdul Latif Romly from Malaysia took home the gold medal with a jump of 7.45 m, and Nicholas Hum from Australia won the bronze medal with his long jump of 7.12 m.

Greek athlete Prodromou rushed to help injured competitor in Paralympics

During the event, Prodomou embodied the spirit of athleticism when he rushed to help Romly who was injured during his fifth jump.

Prodomou didn’t hesitate when he saw his fellow athlete hold his leg in pain after landing his jump, and the Greek athlete even rushed to his competitor’s side before the paramedics.

Despite his injury, Romly went on to win the gold medal in the long jump event.

Champion !!! Latif Romly berjaya membawa EMAS untuk Malaysia walaupun lompatan kelima Latif mengalami kecederaan, diharapkan tiada kecederaan serius menimpa dirinya #sokongmalaysia #ganbattemalaysia pic.twitter.com/Q19JFnqpRm

— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) September 4, 2021

Commentators from Romly’s native Malaysia, and all over the world, praised Prodomou for immediately putting the competition aside to help his fellow athlete.

Prodomou even helped the Malaysian athlete, who was clearly in pain, clean some of the sand out of his hair and face after his injury.

RESPECT !!! Atlet Lompat jauh Athanasios Prodromou dari Greece dilihat membantu Latif Romly yang dalam kesakitan #RESPECT #sportsmanship pic.twitter.com/qkR0SK30sI

— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) September 4, 2021

In a social media post, the Hellenic Paralympic Committee praised Prodromou, writing:

“We take a bow to Thanasis Prodomou, for his ethos and fair play! All of social media is talking about Thanasis Prodromou’s great move to help the Malaysian athlete Latif Romly when he was injured during his fifth attempt…

Foreign media are praising the enthusiasm and manner in which the Greek athlete helped right after Romly’s injury…”

The post even included some of the comments fans posted on social media about Prodromou’s act of kindness, which included messages like:

“A big hug from Malaysia,” “Thank you Greece,” and “Respect.”

A total of 11 medals for Greece in Tokyo

The first medals for Greece were won on the first full day of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, on August 25. Panagiotis Triantafyllou and Demosthenes Michalentzakis won bronze for Greece in the wheelchair individual fencing category and swimming respectively.

The following day, Powerlifter Dimitrios Bakochristos of Greece won the bronze medal in the men’s 54 kg powerlifting event at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Greek swimmer Antonios Tsapatakis won the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke SB4 at the Tokyo Paralympics on August 29, and Athanasios Konstantinidis won silver in the men’s club throw event on August 28.

On Tuesday, Efstratios Nikolaidis, representing Greece, won the bronze medal in the shot put.

On Wednesday Greece added another medal to its tally at the Tokyo Paralympic Games as Grigoris Polychronidis won the silver at boccia.

Greek sprinter Thanasis Ghavelas won the gold medal for Greece in the 100 meter sprint  final on Thursday at the Paralympic Games held in Tokyo.

The 22-year-old athlete, together with his sighted companion Sotiris Garaganis, won the category T11 with a time of 10.82, improving the world record they had set in Wednesday’s qualifier of 10.88.

Greek swimmer Alexandra Stamatopoulou took home the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday in the women’s 50m backstroke swimming S4 event.

Stamatopoulou, who has a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome, finished the race with a time of 49.63, earning her the bronze medal.

The Greek boccia team won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday in what is the tenth medal for the country during the Games in Japan.