Konstantinos Filippidis

He was successful at the junior level, finishing fourth at both the 2003 World Youth Championships and the 2004 World Junior Championships and winning a silver medal at the 2005 European Junior Championships. In the same year, he won the silver medal at the 2005 Summer Universiade with a personal best jump of 5.75 metres. He also competed at the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 European Athletics Championships without qualifying for the final.

In 2007 Filippidis was found guilty of etilephrine doping. The sample was delivered on 16 June 2007 in an in-competition test at the national athletics championships. He received an IAAF suspension from July 2007 to July 2009. He then successfully applied for a reduction in his ineligibility period and subsequently he was eligible to resume competition from the 16th of February 2009.[1]

After his comeback in 2010, he improved his personal best and the national indoor record (5.70 m) and later took 4th place in the 2010 World Indoor Championships.

The following year he started the season with another national indoor record (5.72 m) and also reached the final of the 2011 European Indoor Championships, taking the 5th place. During the summer season, he took third place at the IAAF Diamond League in Paris with 5.68 m, second place with 5.72 m in the meeting at Jockgrim and won the Greek National Championship with a vault of 5.73 m. At the 2011 World Championships, he improved his season's best and took the 6th place with a vault of 5.75m, equaling his 2005 Greek record.[2]

In the 2012 indoor season, Filippidis again broke the Greek national record with a vault of 5.75 m, while in the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul he once again reached the final, taking 7th place. Later on that summer, he was again 7th at the final of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. After the Games, he twice improved the Greek record (first to 5.76 m and then finally to 5.80 m).

On 2013 Filippídis took the first place in the World Challenge in Berlin. He managed a vault 5.70 metres on his third attempt.

Konstantinos Filippídis took the first place in the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot. The Greek champion progressed through the final with no failures until the winning height of 5.80m, winning the world indoor title with a season’s best.