{"id":616573,"date":"2025-07-09T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T17:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=616573"},"modified":"2025-07-09T10:39:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T17:39:22","slug":"the-rise-of-greek-swimming-is-due-to-a-water-polo-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-rise-of-greek-swimming-is-due-to-a-water-polo-man\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of Greek Swimming is Due to a Water Polo Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rise of Greek Swimming is Due to a Water Polo Man<\/strong><\/p>\n

Swimming was never the No.1 sport of Greece, not even No.1 in aquatics. But everything changed when Kiriakos Giannopoulos<\/strong> took command of the Hellenic Swimming Federation in 2021. Three years later, at the 2024 Games, Apostolos Christou won Greece’s first Olympic medal in swimming since 1896.<\/p>\n

Water polo and artistic swimming were the sports the Hellenic Aquatics Federation focused on before 2021, when Dimitris Diathesopoulos<\/strong> was the president. He was a former water polo referee and wanted his sport to be No. 1 in Greece, which he made happen. During his presidency, the men\u2019s national team won two bronze medals at the World Aquatics Championships (2005, 2015) and the women’s team won silver at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 and three silvers at the European Championships (2010, 2012, 2018).<\/p>\n

Every success is welcome and appreciated, but it was time for swimming to rise and Giannopoulos recognized an opportunity when he took over. Since Giannopoulos took command, medals have been collected at every major championship. And on the road to the 2028 Olympic Games, young talents in Greece have been provided funding to attend training camps and prepare for the big events.<\/p>\n

At the 2021 European Championships in Budapest, Greek swimmers won six medals, with Anna Ntountounaki <\/strong>becoming a European Champion in 100 butterfly for the first time in her career. A few months later, at the 2021 European Short Course Championships in Kazan, Greece collected five medals, including Andreas Vazaios\u2019<\/strong> gold in the 200 individual medley.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Christou just missed becoming Greece\u2019s third swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships, after Aris Grigoriadis<\/strong> (2005, gold in 50 backstroke) and Kristian Gkolomeev<\/strong> (2019, silver in 50 freestyle). Christou finished fifth in the final of 100 backstroke, but the disappointment of that race led him to the bronze medal in 2024 at the World Championships in Doha, then to the silver medal at Paris Olympic Games in the 200 backstroke.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not only Christou who has made an impact for Greek swimming. At the 2024 European Championships, Greece won 17 medals and placed second in the medal table. Apostolos Siskos<\/strong>, Stergios Bilas<\/strong>, Georgia Damasioti<\/strong> and Vangelis Makrygiannis<\/strong> won their first medals at the senior level, and they continue to make progress. More, at the 2025 European U-23 Championships, Damasioti and Siskos won gold medals in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, while Artemis Vasilaki<\/strong> won the 1500 freestyle.<\/p>\n

A new era has launched in Greek swimming, the bar elevated for greater things to come.<\/p>\n

Greek Swimming Medals Since Kiriakos Giannopoulos Took Over Hellenic Swimming Federation<\/strong><\/p>\n

2020 European Aquatics Championships<\/strong><\/p>\n