Spyridon Gianniotis

Spyridon Gianniotis
Personal information
Full nameSpyridon Gianniotis
NicknameSpyros
National team Greece
Born (1980-02-19) 19 February 1980 (age 44)
Liverpool, England
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesOpen water, freestyle
ClubOlympiacos

Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis (Greek: Σπυρίδων "Σπύρος" Γιαννιώτης; born 19 February 1980) is a Greek competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance and open-water freestyle events. He is an Olympic silver medalist, two-time World Champion, World Cup gold medalist, and two-time European Champion.[1] A five-time Olympian, Gianniotis has won a total of 15 medals in major international long-course competition, totalling 5 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the World Cup and the European Championships. In 2011 he won the World Open Water Swimmer of the Year award, becoming the first and only Greek swimmer to earn that distinction.

He was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year, for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013.[2][3] He won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio at the 10 km marathon swim. Initially, Gianniotis was given as the gold medalist as he appeared to cross the finish line first, but the Dutchman Ferry Weertman touched the timing pad before him.[citation needed] After 15 minutes of deliberations by the judges and the use of photo finish, Weertman was awarded the gold medal and Gianniotis the silver, despite the fact that both were credited with the same time: 1 hour, 52 minutes, 59.8 seconds (1:52:59.8).[citation needed] Gianniotis won the silver medal at the age of 36, being the oldest competitor in the event.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Spyros Gianniotis – Medals and Honours, Hellenic Swimming Federation official website
  2. ^ "Οι κορυφαίοι της χρονιάς". newsbeast.gr. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Οι κορυφαίοι στη γιορτή του ΠΣΑΤ". ΠΣΑΤ - Πανελλήνιος Σύνδεσμος Αθλητικού Τύπου (in Greek). 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-24.