Fotini Papaleonidopoulou was 10 years old when her face became one of the symbols of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Twenty years later, the now 30-year-old woman, who grew up in the SOS Children’s Villages, is pursuing her PhD in molecular biology at the Francis Crick Institute. She spoke about her experience of extinguishing the Olympic Flame on ERT’s program “Epilogue” on the evening of Thursday, July 25.

Reflecting on the night that conveyed the Olympic ideal to the world, Fotini Papaleonidopoulou admitted, “It was an experience whose value I understood later. At that moment, I was living it like a little kid. Thankfully, everything went well, and I didn’t stumble on the stairs.”

She also emphasized that she was not prepared for what she faced at that moment. “We had done some rehearsals, very few, and they certainly didn’t prepare us for what we would encounter at that moment – the packed stadium, the large screens… I didn’t know that this image would be seen all around the world,” she noted.

Finally, Fotini Papaleonidopoulou explained what the Olympic Games and the athletes’ efforts mean to her. “Certainly, what has remained indelible to me, because we discussed it a lot in school back then, is the Olympic ideal. We talked about how important the value of effort and personal perfection is because that is what athletes demonstrate. Some succeed at 20, others at 35, and win the gold or silver medal, and that is very significant for us. I also want to carry these values through my own life,” she stated.