It was another special night at the annual P.S.A.T. (Panhellenic Association of Sports Press) Awards as the best of the best in Greek Sports for 2016 were honoured. Petrounias and Korakaki were named the male and female athletes of the year while Kagialis/Mantis were announced as “Team of the Year.”
It was a special night at the Megaro Mousikis in Athens as the best Greek athletes of 2016 were honored at the annual P.S.A.T. awards. In addition to the standard awards that were given out, distinct individuals were also honored for their accomplishments during the year. For a list of the nominees, click here…
Eleftherios Petrounias was named the “Male Athlete of the Year” for a second consecutive term. This year’s award is a bit more special than last year’s as he won the Olympic Gold in Rio in the Men’s Ring’s competition during the summer. Petrounias has dominated numerous competitions (European, World) over the year and has proven himself as the best there is in the sport. Petrounias stated that he has begun his preparations for Tokyo 2020 where he looks to win another Olympic Gold medal.
Anna Korakaki was named the “Female Athlete of the Year” after her tremendous season. The young Greek shooter won TWO medals at the summer Olympics, including gold in the Women’s 25-meter pistol event and bronze in the 10-meter pistol event. She edged out Katerina Stefanidis for the award, who also won Olympic Gold in Rio in the Women’s Pole Vault.
Pavlos Kagialis and Panagiotis Mantis were awarded the title of “Team of the Year.” The duo won the bronze medal in Rio in the Men’s 470 Sailing event.
Tasos Korakakis was announced as the “Coach of the Year” leading his daughter, Anna Korakaki, to two Olympic medals.
Pavlos Mamalos was named the “Male Athlete of the Year with a disability” after his weightlifting gold medal at the Paralympics in Rio. The “Female Athlete of the Year with a disability” was given to Dimitra Korakidou.
The “Team of the Year with a disability” was awarded to the Greek BC3 Boccia National Team composed of Anna Deda, Nikos Pananos, and Grigoris Polychronidis. The Greek team finished with the bronze medal at the Rio Paralympics.
In addition to the standard awards (above), many Greeks enjoyed success over the year in their respective sports and were given distinct honors during the P.S.A.T awards, including...
The 7 Greek athletes that won a medal at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics were announced to the stage and given a special award for their accomplishments, including: Eleftherios Petrounias (Gold - Men’s Rings), Katerina Stefanidis (Gold - Women’s Pole Vault), Anna Korakaki (Gold - Women’s 25-meter Pistol, Bronze - Women’s 10-meter Pistol), Spyros Gianniotis (Silver - Men’s Marathon Swimming), and Pavlos Kagialis/Panagiotis Mantis (Bronze - Men’s 470 Sailing). *Katerina Stefanidis was not present as she trains for the new season in the United States. She did however Skype into the awards ceremony*
Spyros Gianniotis was given the highly respected award of “Eu Agonizesthe” (Fair Play) for his overall contributions to Greek Athletics and of course for his TREMENDOUS sportsmanship during the Olympic Games where he lost the gold medal by a fingertip. The Greek Olympic Committee appealed the decision so that both Gianniotis and his Dutch opponent would receive the gold medal, however the Greek athlete refused the appeal saying that he rightfully lost in the end.
The Greek, Fernando Santos, was awarded for leading Portugal to the Euro 2016 title in France. The former Greek National Team coach gave his speech IN GREEK and said that he will return one day. More on that here...
Dimitris Itoudis was honored for leading CSKA Moscow to the 2016 Euroleague Basketball title.
Finally, the future talent of Greek sports was honored including Emmanuel Karalis and Stefanos Tsitsipas with the “Upcoming Talent Awards.” Karalis recorded the best jump in the world in the Men's U18 Pole Vault for the 2016 season while Tsitsipas is ranked number one in the world in the Junior Tennis category. Tsitsipas also won the European Championship this season in the same category.
Hopefully 2017 will have equally or more success in the world of Greek Sports. Bravo to everyone...
*Source: sportfm.gr
*For more sport head to agonasport.com
