As we now head into the second weekend of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, we take a look back at the Games so far.
It’s been full of scenes of intense emotions and great Olympic moments for many nations and that includes Greece, even if they aren’t high up on the medal tally.
Greece has currently won two medals – one silver and a bronze, and despite neither being a gold, both feats have been quite significant and historic.
Apostolos Christou has won Greece its first medal in swimming since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
Taking home the silver in the men’s 200m backstroke, he set a new national record with a time of 1:54.82.
Earlier this week he also just missed out on another medal by a mere two-hundredths of a second, finishing fourth in the men’s 100m backstroke.
Just missing out on a podium finish, Christou’s 52.41 seconds was the best ever result achieved by a Greek swimmer in the pool.
Christou’s silver win is Greece’s second medal in Paris after Theodoros Tselidis won a bronze medal for the Men’s 90kg judo event.
Tselidis defeated Spaniard Tristani Mosakhlishvili for the bronze a few days before his 28th birthday, taking home the country’s third ever medal in judo.
Also in the water, Greece has been on a tear in water polo with the men’s team sitting 1st in the Group A table undefeated.
The 13-11 victory over USA was their third and now means they have qualified for the quarterfinals.
Australia, who feature Greek Aussie Charlie Negus, sit second in Group B.
Greece has also seen great performances in rowing.
Stefanos Ntouskos qualified for the men’s Single Sculls final while three duos have also qualified for their own finals.
Christina Bourmpou and Evangelia Anastasiadou set the tone, claiming a 3rd place finish in the women’s pair semi-finals.
Antonios Papakonstantinou and Petros Gkaidatzis will also take centre stage. The pair delivered a commanding performance in the men’s lightweight double sculls semi-finals, crossing the line in 2nd place with a time of 6:23.36.
This year marks the final time lightweight rowing will be featured at the Olympic Games, so they’ll be hoping to claim some medals for Greece.
Finally, Zoe Fitsiou and Milena Kontou added to the Greek contingent featuring in rowing finals with a 2nd place finish in the women’s lightweight double sculls semi-finals.
They will all be aiming to etch their names in Greek Rowing history.
It was a good run for Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the quarter-finals in tennis but was sent packing in a loss to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6(3).
The top ranked Greek had a 5-2 lead in the second set but the Serbian made his comeback.
Tsitsipas is now 2-12 against Djokovic having lost the last 11 matches to the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Maria Sakkari reached the final 16 at the Olympics for a second consecutive Games, but ultimately lost to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 4-6, 7(7)-6(5), 6-4.
Despite much hype over Greece’s basketball team featuring in the Olympics, it hasn’t been that great for the Greeks.
Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo playing at his best, Greece has lost to both Spain and Canada.
They meet with Australia on Friday night for their final matchup in the Olympics pool of death.
It was a must win for the Greeks, while a win for the Aussies would likely see them finish second and earn a ticket to Paris’s quarter-finals.
Greece would need to beat Australia by at least three points to have a chance. If they beat the Boomers by 10 or more points and Spain lost to Canada, Giannis and company would definitely secure a spot in the Olympics playoffs.
