Greece’s Alexandra Stamatopoulou triumphed in the women’s 50m backstroke S4 final on Saturday, securing her country’s third gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The swimming champion celebrated her 38th birthday with a triumphant gold medal in the final race of her career at the Paris competition.
Stamatopoulou was impressive in the second half of the race, where she took the lead leaving behind her competitors.
She finished in 50.12 with Germany’s Gina Botcher second with 51.40 and Brazil’s Lidia Vieira de Cruz third at 52.00.
Stamatopoulou, who won bronze at the Tokyo Paralympic Games showed that her progress is impressive.
From a young age, she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder of unclear cause characterized by progressive muscular rigidity and stiffness.
Although no treatment cures stiff person syndrome, working with a specialist and maintaining symptom control can make it easier to live with the condition.
“I had a lot of pain when the race started but I said to myself do it now on your birthday and give yourself a gift,” Stamatopoulou said after the race.
“It was very important for me to win this medal and to give it as a gift to myself, but also to those close to me who we have been supportive for many years,” she added.
Stamatopoulou adds to Greece’s gold medal tally
Earlier in the week, sprinter Athanasios Ghavelas defended his gold medal in the 100m (T11) at the Paris Paralympic Games, repeating his victory from Tokyo and becoming the first Greek to win gold in two consecutive Games.
The Greek sprinter, guided by Giannis Nyfantopoulos in the final, clocked 11.02 seconds to claim the gold medal once again.
Ghavelas’ early loss of sight presented a significant challenge for both him and his family. However, with the support of his friends and the persistence of his ambitions, he emerged from this ordeal.
Thanasis Konstantinidis won in the shot put F32 category. Taking the green at the Stade de France, Konstantinidis climbed to the top with a new European record, bringing home Greece’s first gold in the 2024 Paralympic Games.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee, being held in Paris, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024.
These games mark the first time Paris is hosting the Summer Paralympics and the second time that France is hosting the Paralympic Games, as Tignes and Albertville jointly hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympics.