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Konstantinos Kenteris
In 2000, Greece found a sprinting legend in Kenteris who completed his trilogy by winning the Olympics, World and the European Championship.
Born: July 11, 1973
Country: Greece
Weight: 79.8 kgs
Height: 180 cm
Event: Track and Field (100m, 200m)
Olympic Record:
2000 Sydney Games: 1st in 200m
Other Records:
2001 World Championship: 1st in 200m
The last time a Greek man won gold in a running event was in the marathon at the very first modern Games in 1896. In 2000 Greece found a new sprinting legend, Konstantinos Kenteris who won the gold which was Greece's fourth medal of the Games.
It was not until 1999 that Kenteris took part in his first major international tournaments; he was eliminated in the heats of both the indoor and outdoor world championships. Because of this, few people had heard of Kenteris when he surprised by qualifying for the 200 m final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Although defending Olympic champion Michael Johnson had retired, and reigning World Champion Maurice Green didn't compete, nobody had included Kenteris in his list of medal favourites. But Kenteris raced to the gold medal, denying Britain's Darren Campbell and Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago.
Kenteris proved his title was no fluke when he won the 200 m title at the 2001 World Championships. The following year, Kenteris completed his trilogy by also winning the European title.
Kenteris is one of the hopes of home crowd for winning a gold medal in athletics in the upcoming Athens Games. But trying to defend his title could be tough as no man in the modern era has ever defended their 200m title.
