“Bronze” for Papaioannou at the U18 European Cup in Thessaloniki

Maria Eleni Papaioannou won the only medal for Greek judo at the Thessaloniki Cadet European Cup 2024 hosted at the weekend in Alexandrio Melathros. The event, which closed the European Judo Union (EJU) European Cups for the current year, was attended by 439 judokas from 29 countries, from three continents. Apart from the 3rd place from Papaioannou, Greece also had a 5th place from Sofia Matzirides at -63 kg and two sevenths, from Drosia Matzirides at -63 kg and Viktor Gouralasvili at +90 kg.

The first place in the medals went to Kazakhstan with two gold, three silver and the same number of bronze, followed by Azerbaijan (2-1-5) and Italy (2-1-0). Georgia took fourth place with one gold, three silver and four bronze medals.

The Thessaloniki Cadet European Cup 2024 was honored with their presence by the Deputy Minister of Sports, Yannis Vroutsis, the Deputy Minister of the Interior in the Macedonia and Thrace sector, Konstantinos Giulekas, the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, the Member of Parliament for Second Thessaloniki, Theodoros Karaoglou, the Deputy regional governor of culture and sports of Central of Macedonia, Christos Mittas, the Deputy Mayor of Thessaloniki in matters of sports, Koula Giannakidou and the Consul of Georgia in Greece, Gela Tzaparindze et al.

Papaioannou, in her first year in the U18, won the only medal for Greece in the organization of Thessaloniki. After three unsuccessful attempts at European Cups during the year, today, in front of the Greek public, he took the bronze medal at -70 kg.

“I was very stressed. I want to thank my teachers very much who helped me get here and never stopped believing in me. To my parents, who also do the same. I am very happy. I can’t put into words how I feel. Truth. The place in the final was lost due to a mistake. Unfortunately against an athlete I had faced in the past and with whom I had made the same mistake. I leave it behind. We learn from mistakes. I am happy that I won the only Greek medal in the event. Now, with a better mentality, I am called to correct the mistakes, to reach high and make my dreams come true: a medal in the biggest judo events. In 2025 I will be present in as many international events as possible. I want to reach the level of contending for an Olympic medal. It’s my dream,” said Papaioannou.

Her coach, Yiannis Papachristidis, spoke about the support that the young athlete has from her family “who comes every day for training, while immediately after she follows a program with weights until late at night. She is a model athlete, who at the same time is also a very good student”.

On the podium of the winners, at the finale of the event, however, Cyprus was also found, with Marina Azinou as the protagonist, who won the bronze medal at -57 kg. A medal that came after the two golds, a few days ago, at the European Judo Championships of the Small States.

“I was suspended for eight months by my federation for a misunderstanding that had occurred in some matches. But everything is now past-forgotten. I am proud to have won a medal today. I want to say a big thank you to my coach and father. The best is yet to come. In 2025 I enter the U21 where I want my presence to be accompanied by distinctions in the competitions I will participate in. And I have a plan to go to several during the year.”

The “bronze” Olympic medalist of Paris, Theodoros Tselidis, the federal coach, Nikos Iliadis, as well as Theodora Paschalidou, third in the Paralympic Games of the French capital, were honored by the Hellenic Judo Federation during the opening ceremony of the European Cup.