Paraskevi Papachristou

Paraskevi "Voula" Papachristou (Greek: Παρασκευή (Βούλα) Παπαχρήστου [parasceˈvi papaˈxristu]; born 17 April 1989) is a Greek triple jumper and long jumper. She won two gold medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships and took the third place at the 2016 World indoor Championships. She was removed from the Greek team for the 2012 London Olympics by the Greek Olympic Committee after making a racist comment online. At the 2016 Summer Olympics' final in Rio de Janeiro, she took the 8th place. In 2018 she was the European Champion in Berlin with a jump of 14,60 metres.

Paraskevi Papachristou
Personal information
Native nameΠαρασκευή Παπαχρήστου
Nickname(s)Voula
NationalityGreek
Born (1989-04-17) 17 April 1989
Athens, Greece
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country Greece
SportTriple jump
ClubA.O.Kallistos
Coached byGeorge Pomaski
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)14.73 m
14.60 m (i)
Medal record
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place2016 PortlandTriple jump
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2018 BerlinTriple jump
Bronze medal – third place2016 AmsterdamTriple jump
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2019 GlasgowTriple Jump
Bronze medal – third place2017 BelgradeTriple Jump
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place2011 OstravaTriple Jump
Gold medal – first place2009 KaunasTriple Jump
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third placePescara 2009Triple Jump
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place2008 BydgoszczTriple Jump
Representing Europe Europe
Continental Cup
Bronze medal – third place2018 OstravaTriple jump

Career

Born in Athens,[1] Papachristou won the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships.[2] She competed in the 2009 European Indoor Championships and went through the qualification round with a jump of 14.47 metres. However, in the final, she was injured and failed to register a valid jump. After taking the bronze medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games, she competed at the 2009 World Championships without reaching the final round.[2] She won the gold medal at the 2009 European U23 Championships that season. During the indoor season of 2011, she competed in the qualifying rounds of the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships without reaching the final. She achieved a personal best of 14.72 metres in June 2011 in Chania – a mark which ranks her third among Greek female triple jumpers, after Hrysopiyi Devetzi and Paraskevi Tsiamita. This jump was also the second best ever achieved by a European under-23 athlete after Anna Pyatykh's record of 14.79 m.[3] She successfully defended her gold medal at the 2011 European U23 Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Expulsion from 2012 Olympics

Papachristou was to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was expelled from the Greek team on 25 July 2012 after she posted on her Twitter account a message which has been translated to: "With so many Africans in Greece... the West Nile mosquitoes will at least eat homemade food!!!"[4][5] This was in reference to a small outbreak of West Nile virus in Greece that had sickened at least five and killed one person.[4] The tweet, for which she later apologized for being an unfortunate and tasteless joke,[6][7] was condemned by the Greek Olympic Committee as contrary to Olympic values and ideals.[8]

2013–2019

In May 2013, the Greek athletics federation suspended her athletic benefits effective from 4 January 2013, stating that the athlete's benefits would be reinstated if she began training with an approved coach and resumed high-level competition.[9] Papachristou took a break from track and returned in 2015 - after the birth of her daughter - with George Pomaski as a trainer.

She won the bronze medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, as well as at the European Championships in Amsterdam. At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she took the eighth place. At the 2018 European Championships in Berlin she won the gold medal. The following year she took the second place at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Paraskevi Papachristou at 2015 European Team Championships First League

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  Greece
2008 World Junior Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 3rd 13.74 m (-0.8 m/s)
2009 European Indoor Championships Torino, Italy Final NM
European U23 Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 1st 14.34 m (+0.3 m/s) (PB)
Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 3rd 14.12 m
2011 European U23 Championships Ostrava, Czech Republic 1st 14.40 m (+1.2 m/s)
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 16th (sf) 14.05 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 11th 13.89 m
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 3rd 14.15 m
European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 3rd 14.47 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 8th 14.26 m
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 3rd 14.24 m
World Championships London, United Kingdom 20th (sf) 13.75 m
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, UK 6th 14.05 m
European Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 14.60 m
Continental Cup Ostrava, Czech Republic 3rd 14.22 m
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd 14.50 m
European Team Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 14.48 m
2021 European Indoor Championships Torun, Poland 5th 14.31 m
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 32nd (q) 12.23 m

Personal bests
Date Event Venue Mark[2]
8 June 2016 Triple jump Filothei, Greece 14.73 m
3 March 2019 Triple jump (indoor) Glasgow, Great Britain 14.50 m
15 June 2012 Long jump Athens, Greece 6.60 m
31 January 2016 Long jump (indoor) Piraeus, Greece 6.51 m [10]

References
  1. Paraskevi Papahristou Archived 30 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. London2012. Retrieved on 25 July 2012.
  2. Paraskevi Papachristou at World Athletics
  3. Greek triple jumper Papahristou records second best European U23 mark in Haniá Archived 24 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (12 June 2011). Retrieved on 16 June 2011.
  4. "Greek triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou withdrawn from Olympics following racist tweet about African immigrants". Independent. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  5. "Greek athlete suspended from Olympic team for offensive remarks". CNN. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  6. "Voula Papachristou Greek olympic racist tweet". Huffington Post. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  7. "Sleepless Papachristou says exclusion excessive". Reuters. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  8. "London 2012: Greece expel triple jumper over racist Twitter remark". The Guardian. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  9. Wood, Graham (27 March 2013). "Greek triple jumper Papachristou has grant suspended". Reuters. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  10. "Καλή αρχή για την Παπαχρήστου". Sportsfeed. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
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