The snowy days in Sarajevo and the U21 European Championship have been medal-winning days for Greek Olympic Taekwondo. Today, Stella Marentaki and Rafael Ioannis Maretis advanced to the finals of their respective categories, concluding their efforts with gold and silver medals, respectively.

These two medals join the other two won by Greece during the first two days of the competition, propelling the nation higher in the overall standings of the tournament.

Marentaki has now secured her third European Championship medal (gold in 2019 in the Cadet division and bronze in 2022 in U21). Meanwhile, Maretis celebrated his second European medal, having previously claimed bronze in 2018 in the Junior division. Greece is now one medal away from reaching a total of 40 in the history of the tournament, dating back to 2012, when the country first began its medal-winning journey in this championship.

Marentaki completed her marathon in the -67 kg category without losing a single round. She defeated Cyprus’s Mela 2-0, Russia’s Krivova (AIN) 2-0, Poland’s Kowalkowska 2-0, and in the final, overcame Spain’s Moreno with the same scoreline. Notably, Marentaki had suffered two consecutive losses to Moreno before today’s triumph.

Maretis, on the other hand, defeated Croatia’s Brandura 2-1 in the Round of 16, secured his place on the podium with a 2-0 win over Russia’s (AIN) Lyubinsky, and reached the final after a dramatic comeback victory (2-1) against Serbia’s Ajduković. In the final, he fell 2-0 to Spain’s Troyendino, a seasoned competitor boasting a bronze medal at the World Championships and now three European medals, two of them gold.