National Water Polo Team Men (2020)
Silver medal, Water polo, Tokyo 2020
The national water polo team consisting of players Manos Zerdevas, Konstantinos Genidounias, Dimitris Skoumpakis, Marios Kapotsis, Giannis Foundoulis, Alexandros Papanastasiou, George Dervisis, Stelios Argyropoulos, Konstantinos Mourikis, Christodoulos Kolombos, Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis, Aggelos Vlachopoulos, Konstantinos Galanidis and coach Thodoris Vlachos climbed to the podium for the first time in the history of the sport after playing a great tournament, as the team remained undefeated until the final.
The national water polo team faced the strong team from Serbia with great vigor but in the end, they were defeated 13-10 in the grand final of the Tokyo Olympics. The great team fought until the last minute against Serbia that had won the gold medal in Rio in 2016 but failed to win however making history by winning the first medal in the discipline of water polo on Olympic Games.
They said..
Yiannis Fountoulis had every reason to be happy about this great award, but with his reference to the sad events with the fires that plagued Greece in those days, the team captain showed the greatness of his morale by saying:
“I do not know what to say, I do not have words. We are thirteen people, along with our coaches. Only in our wildest dreams have we imagined all this. I have no words to express what I feel now. History was written today, the only question that remains is with which letters we will write it next.
Honestly, we are all very affected by what is happening in our country. Lives are in danger in Greece, and I do not think that a victory can ease the pain of what is happening. We are saddened by what is happening in Greece and hope that no one is in danger. Under these circumstances, we apologize in advance for our joy and excitement. With all due respect, we will celebrate this success and reflect on what is happening in Greece.
There is no greater moment in the career of an athlete, we have achieved something that has never been done before. I am proud to be here and represent my country. We have managed to celebrate this here, to set a milestone and to unite for the rest of our lives”
August 8, 2021
