Greece reached nine medals at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday as Thanasis Konstantinidis and Lazaros Stefanidis won gold and bronze 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 adding to the current tally (1 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).
The seasoned athlete arrived in Paris with a personal best of 11.60 metres and a seasonal best of 10.56 metres. In the finals, he delivered an impressive series of throws: 11.17m, 11.57m, 10.94m, 11.92m, and a final throw of 11.93m, breaking the European record twice in the process.
Stefanidis also showcased remarkable talent, achieving a throw of 9.84 metres to secure the bronze medal. He finished behind Konstantinidis and the independent Russian athlete Alexei Tsupkin, who led with a throw of 11.39 metres.
Meanwhile, the third Greek finalist Dimitris Zisidis threw a commendable 8.88 metres placing him sixth in the Paralympic final.
In the javelin event, Tania Keramyda took fourth place in the final of the F56 category with a throw of throw of 21.96 metres.
Greece wins silver in Paris Paralympics swimming
On Tuesday Antonis Tsapatakis won a silver medal in swimming. Competing in the final of the men’s 100m, Tsapatakis claimed the silver medal with an impressive time of 1:36.16.
After the competition, the Greek Paralympic athlete shared his reflections, saying, “I’m not giving life lessons; I’m reminding us of what we know but sometimes forget.”
Saturday was a day full of achievements for Greece in the Paris Paralympics, adding three more medals.
Greek sprinter Lida Manthopoulou ran the 100m in the T38 category final, bringing home a silver medal for Greece.
The 19-year-old athlete, daughter of late Greek actor Aias Manthopoulos added a silver medal to Greece’s history in the Paralympics.
Eleni Papastamatopoulou won a bronze medal for Greece in Tae Kwon Do in the +65 kg category (K44).
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.
The opening ceremony was held on 28 August 2024 at the Place de la Concorde, the first Paralympic opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium. Directed by Thomas Jolly and with choreography by Alexander Ekman, the ceremony was themed around the human body and “history and its paradoxes”