Second medal for Greece at the Olympic Games, as Apostolos Christou took second place in the 200m backstroke final in Paris with a time of 1:54.82.

“I gave it my all because I knew I had to surpass myself. I really wanted it and found the strength to perform an incredible race,” emphasized Apostolos Christou after his great success.

Christou’s achievement is historic as it gives our country its first medal in a pool event since 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games, which were held in Piraeus.

From disappointment to triumph

Two nights ago, Christou competed in his strong event, the 100m backstroke, and fought for the 3rd place until the last stroke, which was taken by the American Murphy… “4th place doesn’t mean much to me. I was so close to the medal but didn’t make it… And the next Olympics are in four years, who knows what will happen until Los Angeles,” he stated on Tuesday night, trying to organize his thoughts and “forgetting” that he still had the 200 meters ahead of him…

At that moment, it was disappointment, the bitterness of lost efforts, and fatigue speaking… However, the next day, the champion Christou woke up more calmly, passed the preliminaries, and in the semifinal had the 3rd best time that brought him to his 2nd final… The first after Spiros Gianniotis to make it… And the first after Gianniotis (2016, Rio, open water swimming) to celebrate a medal in swimming…