Dimosthenis Tabakos

Olympic Medals

1G 1S

Gymnastics

Silver medal, September 28, 2000, Demosthenes Tabakos, rings. Sydney 2000

Demosthenes Tabakos executed his program on the rings amazingly well, but he had to wait. He had the disadvantage of starting third in line and ahead of his main competitors. However, the judges’ score of 9.762 was too high, but so was his nervousness until Ivankov (Belarus), Yovchev (Bulgaria) and Csollany (Hungary) also finished. The remaining minutes until the completion of the rings final seemed endless. Yovchev and Ivankov executed their programs but could not threaten the Greek champion who was just a breath away from the gold medal. Only the Hungarian Sylvester Csollany remained, who took a risk and performed an incredibly difficult program, which also brought him the victory. The judges’ score was 9.850 compared to Tabako’s 9.762 and Yovchev’s 9.737. The final scores Csollany (Hungary) 9.850 Tabakos (Greece) 9.762 Yovchev (Bulgaria) 9.737 Yang (China) 9.712 Ivankov (Belarus) 9.700 Toba (Germany) 9.675 Iwai (Japan) 9.662 Zozulia (Ukraine) 9.637.

Gold medal, August 22, 2004, Demosthenes Tabakos, rings. Athens 2004

Demosthenes Tabakos completed his gold medal collection in Athens. After his victories in rings at the World Championship and the European Championship, now the time has come for the gold medal at the Olympic Games. He was among the favorites to win, and logically it would have been difficult to miss the podium. In the qualification he scored the best score of 9.850 and showed everyone that he was in top form. Although he competed first in the series, in the final he completed his performance with a score of 9.862 and it was really very difficult for his opponents to defeat the Greek gymnast. The silver medal went to the Bulgarian Olympic bronze medalist from Sydney, Yovchev, and the bronze medal to the experienced Italian Chechi, gold medalist from 1996. Final ranking: Tabakos (Greece) 9.862 Yovchev (Bulgaria) 9.850 Chechi (Italy) 9.812 Tomita (Japan) 9.800 Morandi (Italy) ) 9.800 Beny (France) 9.800 Safoshkin (Russia) 9.750 Schweizer (Switzerland) 9.737.

They said..

“The Olympic medal is heavy. When I stood up there at the rings, there was only me and God, and to him I dedicate the medal. Then I share it with all the Greeks, my parents and the people who helped me get this far”

September 28, 2000

“I had run my routine, I had done what I had to do, so I was not worried, I was just waiting for the final results. I was not stressed because nothing was in my hands at those moments. I am happy to be back on the podium four years after Sydney, especially because the Games were held in my home country. It takes at least two hours for the tension to drop. The differences between the athletes were little. When you see the routine of your opponents and know how I executed mine, I think I won fairly. I thank God that he gave me such a moment and that I can share this joy with so many people.”

August 22, 2004