Sport in Greece
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History of Ancient Greek Sports
The Archaic Age (c. 750–500
Olympic Games
Greece was home of the ancient Olympic Games, first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, and hosted the modern Olympic Games twice, the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics; the country also hosted the 1906 Intercalated Games, at the time regarded as Olympic Games but not officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee today. The nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games, one of the only four countries to have done so, and most of the Winter Olympic Games. During the parade of nations Greece is always called first, as the founding nation of the ancient precursor of modern Olympics, and its national governing body is the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
Having won a total of 121 medals (35 gold, 45 silver and 41 bronze), Greece is ranked 32nd by gold medals in the
Paralympic Games
Paralympic Sports have grown significantly in Greece since the late 1970s. The first participation of athletes with a disability at Paralympic Games was in 1976. The organisation of the Paralympic Games in Athens led to significant growth. The Hellenic Team participated in 17 of the 19 sports and won 20 medals (3 Gold, 13 Silver and 4 Bronze). At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games the Greek Team made its most successful appearance ever with 24 medals (5 Gold, 9 Silver and 10 Bronze). Greece has won in total 105 medals at the Paralympic Games, participating only lately.
Football
The official national championship was held for a first time in the season 1927–28.
Basketball
Greece has a long tradition and history of success in
The
Besides the 9 Euroleagues, Greek basketball teams (
Water polo
Greece is often regarded as an international powerhouse in both men's and women's water polo, with its clubs and nationals teams having achieved a great number of distinctions in international competitions. The Greek men's national water polo team have won a silver medal in the 1997 FINA World Cup, two bronze medals in the FINA World League in 2004 and 2006, a bronze medal in the 2005 World Aquatics Championships and the 4th place in the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek women's national water polo team's most important achievements are the gold medal in the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, the silver medals in the 2004 Olympic Games, 2010 European Championship and 2012 European Championship, as well as a gold and three bronze medals in the FINA World League in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012 respectively.
The Greek water polo leagues in both
Dimitrios Diathessopoulos is known as the father of Greek water polo.
Athletics
Athletics has been another very successful individual sport in Greece. Greek athletes have won 29 medals in total, at the Olympic games for Greece and 19 medals in the
- women's 400m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the semifinals Halkia set an Olympic record of 52.77 seconds.
- 1996 Summer Olympics after a tough competition with Stefka Kostadinova. Her personal best jump of 2.03 metres is the current Greek record.
- European Championin Gothenborg, Sweden finishing at 48.46 seconds in the final.
- Anastasia Kelesidou is a retired Greek discus thrower best known for winning silver medals at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career she set seven Greek records in discus throw, the best being 67.70 metres.
- Olympics since Pietro Mennea achieved the feat by winning gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He is one of the very few elite runners who have run the 200m distance under 20 seconds, with a personal best 19.85 sec.
- Haralabos Papadias won the gold medal in 60 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Championships, in a time of 6.50 seconds (NR),the first and only white man to do so until today.
- Olympic Games in Barcelonain 1992.
- Ekaterini Thanou won the silver medal in the women's 100 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Although Marion Jones admitted to steroid use prior to and during the Sydney Olympics and had her gold medal withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee, Thanou's silver medal was not upgraded to gold because she committed a doping offense herself in 2004. In 2002 she won the 100 m gold medal at the European Championships in Munich.
- European recordin the event at low altitude.
- 1982 European Championships in Athletics, and a bronze medal at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics.
- Hrysopiyi Devetzi won the triple jump silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics with 15.25 and the triple jump bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics with 15.23 m. At the 2004 Summer Olympics semifinal she set a Greek record of 15.32 metres. This performance ranks her in the fourth place of all time triple jumpers, after the world record holder, Inessa Kravets, her greatest rival Tatyana Lebedeva and Françoise Mbango Etone.
- Konstadinos Gatsioudis is a Greek javelin thrower, set a world junior record in 1990, and eight national records during his career. His personal best throw is 91.69 metres, achieved in June 2000 .
Other notable Greek athletes include
Modern Pentathlon
Until 2000, the Olympic Sport of Modern Pentathlon (running + shooting, swimming, fencing, horse riding) was one of the SEGAS federation's sports. In 2000 the "Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon" was found. It is based in the "Goudi Olympic Center" in Athens.
Cricket
Cricket is not very popular in most of Greece, but it is pretty popular in Corfu. The British imported the sport to Corfu during the British rule of the Ionian Islands. Almost all the activities of this sport take place in Corfu. The Hellenic Cricket Federation and most clubs of the championship are located on the island. So far, two European Cricket Championships have been held in Corfu
Fencing
Fencing used to be popular in Greece in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Greek fencers won Olympic medals in the first Olympic Games in Athens. These include Leonidas Pyrgos, Ioannis Georgiadis gold, Tilemachos Karakalos silver and Periklis Pierrakos-Mavromichalis bronze.
Futsal
Futsal in Greece was active less than three decades. The first fields of this sport appeared in the early of 1990s and initially they served the amusement and the recreation of adults. Soon, the sport becomes more organised and the first official championship held at the late of 1990s, concretely in the season 1997–98. The official
Handball
Kickboxing
Kickboxing in Greece and the Greek dispora, has produced many all-time great fighters. It is not one of the most popular sports in Greece, but it has its followers. Famous Greek fighters include:
- 'Iron' Mike Zambidis who is a former 18-time world kickboxing champion.
Kickboxing however is more popular amongst Greeks of Diaspora, especially in Melbourne, Australia, which has produced several superstars of the sport, such as:
- Stan 'The Man' Longinidis who is a former 8-time world champion.
- Tosca Petridis who is a former 7-time world champion.
- Arthur Tsakonas who is a former world champion.
- As well as other greats such as Louie Iosifidis, Nick Talakouris, Evangelos Goussis, and others.
Lacrosse
The Greece national lacrosse team qualified for the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship, its first qualification ever.
Motorsport
Greece organises the
Despite the passion of the Greek people for the
Notable Greek drivers are:
- Aris Vovos
- Alex Fontana
- Jourdan Serderidis
- Andreas Laskaratos
Rugby
Rugby union and Rugby league started to gain a popular foothold in Greece during the 1990s.
A Hellenic Rugby (Union) Federation established in 2004 set up the mechanism for organizing its national team for international competitions.
The Domestic Rugby League started in 2011 in the Piraeus region and since 2012 there have been regular tournaments in Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
From September 2014 to May 2023 Rugby Union was under the aegis of the Hellenic Handball Federation. In May 2023, the Greek General Secretariat of Sports restored recognition of the Greek Rugby Federation.[9] In February 2024 rugby sevens championships for men and women begun again.[10]
From 2016 to 2022 Rugby League was under the aegis of the Hellenic Federation of Modern Pentathlon. In August 2022 a "Greek Rugby League Federation" was officially recognised.[11]
On 9 November 2019 the unofficial Greece national rugby league team qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, after defeating Serbia in a qualifier in Belgrade, 82-6.
Shooting
Shooting used to be very popular amongst the Greeks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Several Greek shooters won many Olympic medals in the first Olympiads (
A new rise in shooting's popularity has been noted after Anna Korakaki won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Sailing & Rowing
Greece has three bordering seas, the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea, so it is not surprising that sailing is a popular sport. Greek athletes have won 7 medals in sailing and 2 in Rowing at the Olympic games and also numerous gold medals in the world and European championships. Some of the most notable Greek athletes in the sports of sailing and rowing include world and olympic champions such as:
- Nikolaos Kaklamanakis, a Greek Gold-medal winner in windsurfing, who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
- Anastasios Bountouris, a Greek sailor who competed at six Olympics between 1976 and 1996. He is the first Greek to compete at six Olympic Games, an achievement so far matched only by shooter Agathi Kassoumi. He won a bronze medal in the 1980 Olympics in the Three-Person Keelboat with Anastasios Gavrilis and Aristidis Rapanakis.
- Sofia Bekatorou, who has participated in over 470 main class events including 2004 Summer Olympics sailing competition, where she won gold medal in the women's double-handed dinghy event in the 470 with her pair Emilia Tsoulfa. She has also won 4 world championships.
- Georgios Zaimis, a Greek sailor and Olympic Champion, who together with Constantine II of Greece and Odysseus Eskidioglou competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and won a gold medal in the Dragon class with the boat Nirefs .
- Vasileios Polymeros, a Greek rower who won the bronze medal in men's lightweight double sculls with Nikolaos Skiathitis at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the silver in men's lightweight double sculls with Dimitrios Mougios at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He has also won one gold and 3 silver medals in the world championships.
- Dimitrios Mougiosis a Greek rower, who won the silver medal in men's lightweight double sculls with Vasileios Polymeros at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, two-times European champion and a silver world champion.
Swimming & Diving
Swimming and Diving are two sports that Greek athletes have achieved significant wins at the Olympic Games, World championships and European Championships. Some notable Greek swimmers are the Olympic champions of the past Spyridon Chazapis and Efstathios Chorafas and present World and European champions such as Romanos Alyfantis, Nery Mantey Niangkouara, Ioannis Drymonakos, the world champion in the 50 m backstroke event of the 2005 World Championships Aristeidis Grigoriadis and silver world champion Spyridon Gianniotis. Thomas Bimis and Nikolaos Siranidis made history winning Greece's first-ever gold medal in diving and the hosts' first gold of the 2004 Athens Olympics. The diver pair therefore became very popular in Greece.
Tennis
Since the late 2010's, a new era started for this sport in Greece with the rise of
Triathlon
Triathlon is an Olympic Sport that includes running, swimming and cycling. It is under the Aegis of the Modern Pentathlon Federation.
Volleyball
Greece featured a women's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.[12]
Weightlifting
Weightlifting has been the most successful individual sport for the Greeks, with the national team regularly winning gold medals at the Olympics and the rest international competitions. Greek weightlifters have won a total 15 medals at the Olympics with 6 of them being gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals. In the World Weightlifting Championships Greek weightlifting team has won a total 111 medals (70 in men and 41 in women) with 26 of them being gold. Greek weightlifters have set many world and Olympic records during the years which forced the sporting world to name the Greek weightlifting team of the mid-1990s, the "Dream Team" of the sport. Some of the greatest weightlifters in the history of the sport include Greek legends such as:
- Pyrros Dimas, a Greek weightlifter from Northern Epirus. A three-time Olympic champion, multiple World and European champion. He is considered worldwide one of the greatest athletes in the history of this sport and the most successful weightlifter of the Olympic Games.
- Kakhi Kakhiashvili, another all-time great of this sport. He is one of only four weightlifters to have won three consecutive gold medals at Olympic Games.
- Viktor Mitrou, a retired male weightlifter from Greece. He became an Olympic medalist during the 2000 Summer Olympics when he claimed the silver medal in the men's – 77 kg class and
- The legendary Greek weightlifter Dimitrios Tofalos. He was a member of both Gymnastiki Etaireia Patron and Panachaikos Gymnastikos syllogos, that merged in 1923 to become Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi. Arguably the greatest weightlifter of the early 20th century, he won the gold medal in the 1906 Intercalated Games, setting a world record that lasted until 1914.
Wrestling
The forms of wrestling we know today as
- Stelios Mygiakis, who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.
- Georgios Tsitas, who won a silver medal at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling.
- FILA Wrestling World Championships and 2 Olympic medals, a bronze at the 1968 Summer Olympics and a silver at the 1972 Summer Olympics, in Greco-Roman wrestling.
- Freestyle Wrestling
- 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Popularity of sports
In 2021 a research was made about trends concerning motorsports in Greece. The research had been requested by the Organisational Committee for Events of Motor Sports (Motorsport Greece), and was conducted by Kappa Research. One of the questions was "which sport or sports would you say that you watch the most?". According to the findings of the research the most popular sports to watch in Greece are in descending order: football, basketball, athletics, motorsports, tennis, volleyball, waterpolo, martial arts.[8]
Notable multi-sport clubs
- In Athens: Panathinaikos A.O., A.E.K., Panionios G.S.S., NC Vouliagmeni, Panellinios G.S.
- In Thessaloniki: P.A.O.K., Aris Thessaloniki, G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki
- In Patras: Panachaiki G.E.
- In Piraeus: Olympiacos CFP, Ethnikos Piraeus
- In Athletic Union of Larissa 1964
- In Heraklion: O.F.I.
- In Ioannina: PAS Giannina
Notable sportsmen of Greek origin
- Pete Sampras - tennis player, considered one of the best tennis players in history
- Chris Chelios - NHL hockey all-time great player
- Peter Angelos - MLB owner of the Baltimore Orioles
- Anton Christoforidis - professional boxer, NBA World Light Heavyweight Champion 1941
- Chris Karamesines - racecar driver
- WWE SmackDown!, professional wrestler (Greek mother)
- Greece national team
- George Karlaftis - American football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) - 2× Super Bowl champion
- Dean Karnazes - ultramarathon champion, writer, businessman
- Alex Karras - NFL player with the Detroit Lions, wrestler and actor
- Lou Karras - NFL player with the Washington Redskins, older brother of Alex Karras
- Ted Karras - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, brothers of Alex & Lou Karras
- Alexi Lalas - soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, U.S. national team
- George Kottaras - currently starting catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
- Matt Stover - NFL player, kicker for Baltimore Ravens
- Jim Londos - champion wrestler during the 1930s
- Greg Louganis - Olympic diving champion
- Harry "the Golden Greek" Agganis1 - college football star and professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox
- special teamer, 2 times Super Bowl champion.[13]
- Nick Markakis - MLB outfielder who currently plays for the Atlanta Braves[14]
- Tino Martinez - former MLB first baseman for the N.Y. Yankees (Greek mother)
- Milt Pappas - MLB pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds and other teams
- Tom Pappas - Track & field decathlete, 2003 world decathlon champion and 2-time Olympian.
- George Parros - NHL hockey player
- Kurt Rambis - former NBA player, won 4 championships with the L.A. Lakers (birth name Kyriakos Rambidis)
- Alex Spanos - NFL owner of the San Diego Chargers
- Trish Stratus - WWE diva
- George Theodore - MLB outfielder for the New York Mets
- Lou Tsioropoulos - former NBA player with the Boston Celtics
- Garo Yepremian - NFL player (Greek Cypriot origin)
- Braith Anasta – Rugby league
- Anthony Koutoufides- a former Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.
- Ang Christou – Australian rules football player
- Angelo Lekkas – Australian rules football player
- Lou Richards – Australian rules football player
- David Zaharakis – Australian rules football player
- Michael Katsidis – professional boxer, former WBO lightweight world champion
- George Kambosos Jr.- professional boxer
- Stan Longinidis - a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai.
- Tosca Petridis - a former 7 world Kickboxing champion
- mixed martial artist
- Glenn Lazarus – player Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm
- George Peponis – former Australian captain
- Willie Peters – player, South Sydney Rabbitohs
- Michael Diamond – shooter – Olympic gold medallist, Sydney 2000
- Lydia Lassila (née Lerodiaconou) – skier – Winter Olympian (gold medalist)
- Mark Philippoussis – tennis player
- Nick Kyrgios - tennis player
- Thanasi Kokkinakis - tennis player
- Stan Lazaridis – Association football player
- Charlie Yankos – Association football player
- Marcus Stoinis - Australian cricket player
- Joseph Pilates
- Nicolas Macrozonaris
- Dave Nonis
- Dominic Filiou
- George Athans
- Bret Hart
- Stanley Christodoulou
- Nic Pothas
- Eder Jofre
- Emanuel Moriatis
- Oscar Panno
- Kyriakos Ioannou
- Ilias Zacharopoulos
See also
- Superleague Greece(top football league)
- Greek Basket League (top basketball league)
- Hellenic Football Federation
- Greece national football team
- Greece national basketball team
- Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- List of Greek sports teams
References
- ^ Wilson (ed.), Wayne; Edelman (ed.), Robert (4 May 2017). The Oxford Handbook of Sports History. Oxford University Press.
{{cite book}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help) - ^ McNulty, Phil (4 July 2004). "Greece win Euro 2004". BBC Sport. news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "FIFA World Rankings". FIFA. www.fifa.com. December 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2010". www.xs4all.nl. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- FIBA. www.fiba.com. Archived from the originalon 14 September 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ "Ποδόσφαιρο σάλας, η "πηγή" νέων ταλέντων". kathimerini.gr. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ Nikolaou, Thanasis (25 April 2022). "Ομαδικά αθλήματα: Το πόλο κορυφαίο όλων στην Ελλάδα, μαύρη τρύπα το χάντμπολ". Sportsfeed (in Greek). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ a b Nikolaou, Thanasis (3 December 2021). "Γιατί ο στίβος είναι το Νο1 άθλημα στην Ελλάδα". Sportsfeed (in Greek). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Ανάρτηση Πράξεων στο Διαδίκτυο | Πρόγραμμα Δι@ύγεια - ΧΟΡΗΓΗΣΗ ΑΠΟΦΑΣΗΣ ΕΙΔΙΚΗΣ ΑΘΛΗΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΡΙΣΗΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΟΜΟΣΠΟΝΔΙΑ ΡΑΓΚΜΠΥ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΑΘΛΗΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΡΑΓΚΜΠΥ". diavgeia.gov.gr (in Greek). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Πρεμιέρα για το ράγκμπι – Iraklis1908.gr" (in Greek). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Ανάρτηση Πράξεων στο Διαδίκτυο | Πρόγραμμα Δι@ύγεια - ΧΟΡΗΓΗΣΗ ΕΙΔΙΚΗΣ ΑΘΛΗΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΡΙΣΗΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΟΜΟΣΠΟΝΔΙΑ ΡΑΓΚΜΠΥ ΛΙΓΚ, ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΑΘΛΗΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΡΑΓΚΜΠΥ ΛΙΓΚ". diavgeia.gov.gr (in Greek). 2 August 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- FIVB. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Chris Maragos and Anastasia Zannis at the Greek Heritage Night ⋆ Cosmos Philly". Cosmos Philly. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Markakis, who is half Greek and half German, led the Greek Olympic team..."
Hellenic federation of Modern Pentathlon, authorised for Triathlon (Ministry Decision) https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/%CE%A904%CE%A74653%CE%A04-%CE%A1%CE%A66?inline=true
Hellenic federation of Modern Pentathlon, authorised for Rugby League (Ministry Decision) https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/7%CE%A63%CE%9B4653%CE%A04-001?inline=true