Greece at the Olympics

Hosted Games

Greece has hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two occasions, the inaugural modern Olympics in 1896 and again in 2004. Both were held in Athens, which along with Los Angeles and Tokyo are the cities that have hosted the Olympic Games twice, with London and Paris being the only two cities to have hosted them three times.

Athens also hosted the 1906 Intercalated Games, which at the time were considered to be Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee.

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Source:

Medals by Winter Games

Source:

Medals by summer sport

Source:

Medal tables by athlete

List of medalists

Athletes with most medals

The table below lists the athletes that have won more than one Olympic medal while competing for Greece. It does not include medals won for other nations and mixed teams. The athletes are shown in order by the number of total medals won; in case of the same number of total medals they are sorted by gold, silver and then bronze medals.

Top medalists

The tables below list the top Olympic medalists for Greece, sorted by gold, silver and then bronze medals.

;Men

;Women

Additional disputed medals of 1896

There is confusion about certain results and medals in the first Summer Olympics of 1896. The Hellenic Olympic Committee, claiming different sources, cites in its website some different results for certain events and some additional medals for Greece, which are contradictory to those appearing in the IOC website. They are cited here separately and are not included in any of the other tables.

Summary by sport

Aquatics

Swimming

Greece first competed in swimming at the inaugural 1896 Games, sweeping the top three spots in one event open only to Greek sailors and winning two silver and one bronze medal in international events. Greek swimmers have won only two silver medals since then at the 2016 and 2024 Games.

Diving

Greece won a gold medal in Diving at the 2004 Games.

Water Polo

Greece has won silver medals at the 2004 Games (women's) and 2020 Games (men's).

Athletics

Greece first competed in athletics at the first Games in 1896, winning the men's marathon. Since then, Greece have won numerous medals in athletics especially from the 1992 Games through to the 2020 Games, in what is Greece's most successful sport at the Olympic Games.

Cycling

Greece competed in all six of the cycling events at the first Games in 1896, winning one event and taking three second-place finishes. As of 2020, those were still the only cycling medals earned by Greek competitors.

Fencing

Greece competed in all three fencing events at the inaugural 1896 Games, winning two (the men's master's foil and the men's sabre) and adding a second-place finish in the men's sabre and third-place in the men's foil. However another bronze medal is considered nowadays in the same event. Those remain the only fencing medals Greece has won to date (through the 2020 Olympics).

Gymnastics

Greece sent 52 gymnasts to the first Games in 1896 (when team events featured very large teams), winning six medals including two of each color. Since then, Greece have won many medals in Gymnastics from the 1996 Games through to the 2020 Games.

Judo

Greece first competed in judo at the 2004 Games and has won three medals since.

Rowing

Greece first won a rowing medal at the 2004 Games and has won more medals since then.

Sailing

Greece first competed in the sailing events in 1948 and won its first medal at the 1960 Games and has won numerous medals since then.

Shooting

Greece competed in all five shooting events at the inaugural 1896 Games, winning three and medaling in the other two (earning a total of 9 medals) and has won shooting medals again from the 2016 Games onwards.

Tae Kwon Do

Greece first competed in tae kwon do at the 2000 Games and had a notable success during the 2000s decade, winning medals in 3 consecutive Olympic Games.

Tennis

Greece first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with seven players competing in men's singles and doubles. Greek players won the silver and bronze medals in the singles; a pair of Greek players combined to win the silver in the doubles, nowadays considered a Greek team and therefore a Greek medal. The 1896 medals remain (through the 2020 Games) the only tennis medals won by Greek players.

Weightlifting

Greece first competed in weightlifting at the inaugural 1896 Games, with three lifters competing. Greek lifters won the bronze medals in both events. Since then, Greek lifters won numerous medals from the 1992 Games through to the 2004 Games, including from Greece's top Olympic medalist Pyrros Dimas.

Wrestling

Greece first competed in wrestling at the inaugural 1896 Games, with two wrestlers competing in the open weight class event and taking the silver and bronze medals. Since then, Greek wrestlers have won medals from the 1968 Games onwards.

Hosted Olympic logos and mottos

1896 Summer Olympics

In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were hosted in Athens, the capital of Greece. The Games were a revival of the ancient Games held every four years in Olympia, in which participants from all Greek city-states were taking part, during antiquity.

By tradition, Greece is since then the first country to enter the stadium, during opening ceremonies.

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympics were hosted predominately in Athens, with a few events in other Greek cities including Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos and Heraklion.

The Games' motto was Welcome Home (Καλώς ήρθατε σπίτι). The 2004 logo consisted of an olive tree branch (κότινος), with the colors of the modern Greek flag. The olive tree was a symbol of the city of Athens, while "kotinos" represented the Olympic spirit, as it was the only reward that the athletes were receiving in Olympia, during the ancient Games. The logo was revealed in 1999.

Notes

References

References

1. "Here's Why Greece Always Goes First in the Olympic Parade of Nations".
2. Lennartz, Karl. (2001). "The 2nd International Olympic Games in Athens in 1906". [[International Society of Olympic Historians]].
3. "Konstantinos "Kostas" Dimitriadis".
4. (2024). "Olympic Analytics – Greece (GRE)". Olympic Analytics.
5. (2024). "Greece - NOC Profile". [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC).
6. (2023). "Olympedia – Greece (GRE)". Olympedia.
7. IOC. "Athens 1896 doubles men Results - Olympic tennis".
8. IOC. "Athens 1896 foil individual men Results - Olympic fencing".
9. "Χωραφάς Στάθης". Hellenic Olympic Committee.
10. "Official Report 1896 page 1".
11. Newspaper Akropolis, 31 March 1896, p. 2. Accessible at Helleniic Parliament's [https://srv-web1.parliament.gr/display_doc.asp?item=41060&seg=22668 digital library], p. 2 of the microfilm.
12. Newspaper Epitheorisis, 4 April 1896, p. 2. Accessible at the Hellenic Parliament's [https://srv-web1.parliament.gr/display_doc.asp?item=33591&seg=873 digital library], p. 172 of the microfilm. Chorafas is cited among the runners up in swimming, although by mistake as of the event of 1200 m., with Andreou cited as runner up in 100 m., while obviously it is vice versa.
13. IOC. "Athens 1896 100m freestyle men Results - Olympic swimming".
14. "Ακρατόπουλος Κώστας". Hellenic Olympic Committee.
15. "Ακρατόπουλος Αριστείδης". Hellenic Olympic Committee.
16. IOC. "Athens 1896 doubles men Results - Olympic tennis".
17. "Πετμεζάς Αριστόβουλος". Hellenic Olympic Committee.
18. IOC. "Athens 1896 horizontal bar men Results - Olympic gymnastics-artistic".
19. IOC. "Athens 1896 1200m freestyle men Results - Olympic swimming".
20. "Παρασκευόπουλος Γιώργος". Hellenic Olympic Committee.
21. Newspaper Epitheorisis, 3 April 1896, p. 2. Accessible at the Hellenic Parliament's [https://srv-web1.parliament.gr/display_doc.asp?item=33591&seg=873 digital library], p. 170 of the microfilm.
22. IOC. "Athens 1896 12-hour race men Results - Olympic cycling-track".