Three-time Olympian Katerina Stefanidi won the silver medal for Greece with a 4.73-meter vault at the European Athletics Championships in Rome on Monday to become the first pole vaulter with five European medals.
Stefanidi has won medals in five consecutive European Championship competitions, acquiring a silver in 2014, a gold in both 2016 and 2018, and again a silver in 2022 and 2024.
Switzerland’s Angelina Moser won the gold as she equaled the national record of 4.78m. Molly Caudery of Great Britain took bronze.
“Today in the warm-up I had a problem during the jog. I got to the point where I didn’t know if I was going to jump today. I ended up setting two records this year and it was a good day after all, ” the Greek champion said.
“I wanted this race to be a boost for the rest of the season and now we are looking higher than 4.73m,” she added.
Stefanidi’s illustrious career in pole vault
Stefanidi won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has also competed at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was the 2017 World champion and earned bronze at the 2019 World Championships.
At age 15, Stefanidi became the 2005 World Under-18 champion and earned silver at the 2007 edition of this championships. The 18-year-old won bronze at the 2008 World U20 Championships.
She then placed second at the 2011 European U23 Championships and third at the 2011 Universiade. She won four Diamond League Trophies between 2016 and 2019. Stefanidi was voted the European Women’s Athlete of the Year in 2017 and the Greek Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
Because of her achievements, she is widely regarded as the greatest female athlete in the history of Greek sport.
Stefanidi’s silver is the second medal won by Greece in this year’s European Athletics Championships in Rome.
Tentoglou wins the long jump title for Greece (again)
On Saturday night Miltiadis Tentoglou retained his men’s long jump title with an extraordinary sequence of five big eight-meter jumps.
He set a championship record, new personal best and world lead of 8.65 meters with his two final efforts.
Tentoglou has now won three consecutive golds in the European championship.
In an electrifying competition, the 26-year-old Olympic and world champion laid down a huge first-round marker of 8.42 meters, and after a second-round foul, he then registered 8.49 meters and 8.45 meters before his concluding flourish, beating both times his previous personal best of 8.60 meters set in 2021.
Italy’s 19-year-old rising talent Mattia Furlani won the silver medal, and Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer won the bronze.