Greek athletes Stefanos Ntouskos and Lefteris Petrounias advanced at Saturday’s preliminaries on the first day of the Paris Olympics.
On the other hand, four Greek contestants failed to progress in their qualifiers in women’s shooting (Korakaki and Moschi) and swimming (Damasioti and Dountounaki).
The Greek women’s water polo team was defeated by the USA, while tennis champion Stefanos Tsitsipas’ first match was postponed due to rainy weather.
Two Greek Olympic champions progressing in Paris
Artistic gymnast Lefteris Petrounias, an Olympic gold medalist, was the first member of the Greek team to compete in Paris. His effort at the Bercy Arena was watched by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis.
Petrounias qualified for the gymnastics rings final, scheduled for Sunday, August 4th. With a score of 14.800 and a difficulty rating of 6.300, the Greek athlete took 4th place in the preliminaries in his event.
“Thank you to everyone, all the Greeks for their support. I believe we will do well and leave with a smile next week,” Petrounias told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Stefanos Ntouskos secured his spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls, having finished second in his preliminary heat, covering the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 1.79 seconds.
The rower commented that some technical issues need to be addressed and appeared hopeful in winning another Olympic medal.
Greek female athletes’ unlucky start at Paris Olympics
On the contrary, the first day of the Paris Olympics proved unlucky for the Greek women competing in three different sports.
In women’s 10-meter air pistol, Greek shooters Anna Korakaki and Christina Moschi did not advance to the finals.
Similarly, in swimming, both Katerina Dountounaki and Sofia Damasioti did not progress to the semifinals of the 100-meter butterfly.
In the women’s water polo, Greece lost to the USA with a score of 15-6. This was the first Olympic game for the Greek women’s water polo team in 16 years, and the team appeared emotional as they listened to the Greek national anthem prior to the match.
Tearful Korakaki reveals reasons for failing qualifiers
Greek Olympic gold and bronze medalist Anna Korakaki was likewise quite emotional on camera after her competition, revealing health issues that led to her failing the 10-meter air pistol qualifiers.
Speaking to Greek public broadcaster ERT, Korakaki disclosed that she fell ill and felt feverish during the competition, which put a strain on her. This was “the cherry on top,” as she already had a recently discovered problem with her eyes.
“I did the best I could, but because of also falling ill today, I couldn’t even finish the competition” Korakaki concluded.
Hoping to have recovered on time for the women’s 25-meter air pistol, Korakaki will have a second chance for a medal in Paris.
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