Paraskevi Papachristou
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Παρασκευή Παπαχρήστου |
| Nickname(s) | Voula |
| Born |
17 April 1989 Athens, Greece |
| Sport | |
| Country | Greece |
| Sport | Triple jump |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 14.72 m, 14.47 m (i) |
Paraskevi "Voula" Papachristou (Greek: Παρασκευή Παπαχρήστου; [paraˈscevi papaˈxristu]; born 17 April 1989) is a Greek triple jumper and long jumper.[1] She won two gold medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships and represented Greece at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. She was removed from the Greek team for the 2012 London Olympics by the Greek Olympic Committee after a tweet she made on Twitter.
Career
Born in Athens,[2] Papachristou won the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships.[3] She competed in the 2009 European Indoor Championships, and went through the qualification round with a jump of 14.47 metres. However, in the final she was injured and failed to register a valid jump.[4] After taking the bronze medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games, she competed at the 2009 World Championships without reaching the final round.[3] She won the gold medal at the 2009 European U23 Championships that season.
During the indoor season of 2011, she competed in the qualifying rounds of the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships without reaching the final. She achieved a personal best of 14.72 metres in June 2011 in Chania – a mark which ranks her third among Greek female triple jumpers, after Hrysopiyi Devetzi and Paraskevi Tsiamita. This jump was also the second best ever achieved by a European under-23 athlete after Anna Pyatykh's record of 14.79 m.[5] She successfully defended her gold medal at the 2011 European U23 Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Expulsion from 2012 Olympics
Papachristou was to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was expelled from the Greek team on 25 July 2012 after she posted on her Twitter account a message which has been translated to: "With so many Africans in Greece... the West Nile mosquitoes will at least eat homemade food!!!"[6][7] This was in reference to a small outbreak of West Nile virus in Greece that had sickened at least five and killed one person.[6] The tweet, for which she later apologized for being an unfortunate and tasteless joke,[8][9] was condemned by the Greek Olympic Committee as contrary to Olympic values and ideals.[10]
Post 2012 Olympics
In May 2013, the Greek athletics federation suspended her athletic benefits effective 1/4/2013. They said that the benefits would be reinstated if she began training with an approved coach and resumed high-level competition.[11]
International competition
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Greece | ||||
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 3rd | 13.74 m (wind: -0.8 m/s) |
| 2009 | European Indoor Championships | Torino, Italy | Final | NM |
| European U23 Championships | Kaunas, Lithuania | 1st | 14.34 m (wind: 0.3m/s) (PB) | |
| Mediterranean Games | Pescara, Italy | 3rd | 14.12 m | |
| 2011 | European U23 Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 1st | 14.40 m (wind: +1.2m/s) |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 16th | 14.05 m | |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 11th | 13.89 m |
Personal bests
| Date | Event | Venue | Mark[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 June 2011 | Triple jump | Chania, Greece | 14.72 m |
| 6 March 2009 | Triple jump (indoor) | Turin, Italy | 14.47 m |
| 15 June 2012 | Long jump | Athens, Greece | 6.60 m |
| 4 February 2012 | Long jump (indoor) | Piraeus, Greece | 6.33 m |
References
- ↑ "Voula Papachristou Long Jump Filothei Women Gala 2013". YouTube. May 20, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ↑ Paraskevi Papahristou. London2012. Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- 1 2 3 Paraskevi Papachristou profile at IAAF
- ↑ "Triple Jump Women Final". European Athletics. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ↑ Greek triple jumper Papahristou records second best European U23 mark in Haniá. European Athletics (2011-06-12). Retrieved on 2011-06-16.
- 1 2 "Greek triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou withdrawn from Olympics following racist tweet about African immigrants". Independent. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Greek athlete suspended from Olympic team for offensive remarks". CNN. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ↑ "Voula Papachristou Greek olympic racist tweet". Huffington Post. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Sleepless Papachristou says exclusion excessive". Reuters. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ↑ "London 2012: Greece expel triple jumper over racist Twitter remark". The Guardian. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ Wood, Graham (March 27, 2013). "Greek triple jumper Papachristou has grant suspended". Reuters. Retrieved November 22, 2014.