Greece's Nora Drakou Snatches Second Silver Medal and Sets New National Record at European Aquatics Championships
The 6th day of the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, was marked by heavy rain that forced the organizers to interrupt the program twice and postpone the men's 1,500m freestyle final to Sunday.
However, the Greek delegation had reason to celebrate once again, thanks to the outstanding performance of Nora Drakou.
The 32-year-old athlete, competing in her 7th European Games, was determined to secure the elusive medal she was seeking. Drakou's efforts were rewarded as she returned to Patras with two silver medals, a formidable national record, and a new qualification for her fourth Olympic Games, which will commence at the end of July.
Drakou's achievement in the 50m freestyle was unprecedented. In the qualifying round, she clocked 24.89, breaking the national record held by Neri Niaguara. Although she slowed down in the semi-final, barely qualifying in 8th place, Drakou saved her best for the final. She finished second in an astounding time of 24.59, missing the gold medal by just three hundredths of a second to Hungary's Petra Senanski.
Drakou's silver medal is Greece's 12th at the Belgrade championships and the second in this event in the history of the competition, after Niaguara's bronze in 2012. Cypriot Kalia Antoniou finished sixth with a time of 25.13.
Apostolos Siskos continued his impressive performance in Belgrade, finishing fifth in the final of the 200m butterfly with a time of 1:56.44, just two hundredths of a second slower than his personal best and national U23 record.
Greece temporarily dropped to third place in the medal table, but this is expected to change on Sunday, with the country set to contend for at least three medals, including two in the 100m backstroke, where Apostolos Christou and Vangelis Makrygiannis had the two best semi-final performances.
Christian Golomeev, who has won silver and two bronze medals at previous European Championships, is aiming for the top of the podium in the 50m freestyle, having posted the fastest time in the semi-finals with 21.73. Stergios Bilas also qualified for the final, finishing eighth with a time of 22.10.
Georgia Damasioti, after her silver medal and Olympic qualification in the 100m butterfly, secured her place in a second final in Belgrade, finishing fifth in the semi-finals of the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:10.50.
Marilia Drasidou and Daniel Yourtzidis also qualified for their respective finals, while Andreas Vazaios missed out on the 200m individual medley final after four consecutive appearances and a European title in 2016.
