Apostolos Christou Downs Greek 200 Back Record On Day One Of Nationals

2024 GREEK NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, May 17th – Sunday, May 19th
• Thessaloniki, Greece
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic Qualification Event
• Results

The 2024 Greek National Swimming Championships kicked off today with a national record going down right off the bat in the men’s 200m backstroke.

27-year-old Apostolos Christou fired off a time of 1:56.34 to take the gold, surpassing the previous national record of 1:56.65 Apostolos Siskos put on the books at this year’s World Championships.

Opening in 55.48 and closing in 1:00.86, Christou beat the former national record holder by nearly a second. Siskos settled for silver in 1:57.23 while Evangelos Makrygiannis rounded out the podium in 2:00.53.

Both Christou and Siskos dipped under the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 1:57.50 needed to book their tickets to this summer’s Games in Paris.

The women’s edition of the 200m back saw Despoina Pyrili prevail with a gold medal-worthy result of 2:14.45. That set a new Panhellenic record for 16-year-olds in the event.

Her result overtook the longstanding mark of 2:14.53 Stella Boumi put on the books nearly 20 years ago.

In the non-Olympic event of the 50m fly, Kristian Gkolomeev beat the field in a winning effort of 23.77. His performance marked his 10th consecutive national gold medal and made him undefeated since 2015.

Anna Ntountounaki reaped gold for the women in 26.66 for her 10th consecutive victory in the event.