Alexandra Stamatiopoulou won the gold medal in the 50m backstroke S4 category at the “Paris 2024” Paralympic Games.
The Greek champion and bronze medalist from Tokyo finished with a time of 50.12, leaving Germany’s Gina Boettcher (51.40) in second place and Brazil’s Lidia Vieira De Cruz (52.00) in third.
This marked the final race for the 38-year-old Stamatiopoulou in the Paralympic Games, and she celebrated her gold medal on her birthday.
In the second half of the race, she surged ahead with none of her competitors able to keep up. She finished in 50.12, with Germany’s Gina Boettcher in second place at 51.40 and Brazil’s Lidia Vieira De Cruz in third with 52.00.
Stamatiopoulou had previously finished third in the same event at the 2021 Tokyo Games, earning a bronze medal, and came in fifth at the 2016 Rio Games.
“Before entering the race, I was praying to the Virgin Mary for gold. My emotions were mixed and constantly changing, seeing how good the other athletes were. I was trembling and just hoping to win any medal. I also have to mention that my teammate Dora Poimenidou helped me a lot the day before,” the athlete said after her major victory.
“I gave everything I had when the race started, thinking ‘do it now, it’s your birthday, give yourself a gift.’ It was such a difficult race, and I was trembling the entire time.”
“I am so happy and grateful because we went through so much over the past year. I believe I gave this gift to myself, but also to my coach, who also has a birthday today. It’s karmic that this happened. It was very important for me to win this medal, as a gift to myself and to those around me who have fought alongside me for years. I want to say a huge thank you to my coach for putting up with me all these years. I want to celebrate today and treat anyone who wants to join!”
Stamatiopoulou’s gold medal in the 50m backstroke (S4) was the third gold for Greece at the 17th Paralympic Games, and the country’s 13th overall, raising Greece to 32nd place on the medal table as of Saturday night.
Greece’s tally of three golds, three silvers, and seven bronze medals elevated the country 19 places higher than in the 2021 Tokyo Games (51st place for Greece), which had many absences due to COVID. The Paris Games have clearly been the most competitive in Paralympic history.
Another positive highlight for the Greek team is that for the first time, they won medals in two different sports (taekwondo and judo), with six new medalists. Four out of the 12 medalists (Thanasis Konstantinidis won two medals) are under 24 years old.
Greece’s medals at the 17th Paralympic Games:
Nasos Gavelas – 100m (T11) Athletics
Thanasis Konstantinidis – Shot Put (F32) Athletics
Alexandra Stamatiopoulou – 50m Backstroke (S4) Swimming
Thanasis Konstantinidis – Club Throw (F32) Athletics
Antonis Tsapatakis – 100m Breaststroke (SB4) Swimming
Lida Manthopoulou – 100m (T38) Athletics
Grigoris Polychronidis – Individual (BC3) Boccia
Lazaros Stefanidis – Shot Put (F32) Athletics
Konstantinos Tzounis – Discus Throw (F56) Athletics
Manolis Stefanoudakis – Javelin Throw (F54) Athletics
Theodora Paschalidou – 70kg (J1) Judo
Christina Gentzou – 65kg (K44) Taekwondo
Eleni Papastamatopoulou – +65kg (K44) Taekwondo
