It only lasted about 45 seconds, but the bone-chills were no doubt, felt everywhere Greeks exist throughout the world when Anna Korakaki, the young shooter from Drama, in northern Greece, stood proudly, listening to her nation’s national anthem and simultaneously watching the blue and white Greek flag rising high above the others.
Korakaki won her second medal at the Rio Games last night—a Gold Medal, following a Bronze on Monday in shooting.
The 20-year-old Korakaki won the first three rounds of the match to go up 6-0, but the 33-year-old German shooter came back to win the next three rounds to tie it up.
In the final round, Karsch missed two of her first three shots but Korakaki missed her fourth shot, putting immense pressure on herself to hit the final shot for gold or risk a tie. Korakaki nailed it, and jumped up to celebrate.
She Tweeted her thanks to Greeks and the world, following her victory and in a second post, shared an emotional post about her struggles and how they have shaped her into the person she is.
Her Twitter bio simply states “Rifle Shooter. Proud Greek.”
Dear Greeks & the world, thank you for showering all your love and supporting me. I'm thankful to all of you. Much love #Gre
— Anna Korakaki (@KorakakiAnna) August 10, 2016
“Every struggle in your life has shaped you into the person you are today. Be thankful for the hard times; they make you stronger,” her Tweet said.
Every struggle in your life has shaped you into the person you are today. Be thankful for the hard times; they make you stronger.#GRE ❤️ -AK
— Anna Korakaki (@KorakakiAnna) August 10, 2016
The 45-second video from Korakaki’s Gold medal is here:
Gold and Bronze Medalist Anna Korakaki
1 comment
Great article on another Greek Olympic gold. Just a quick correction–you were quoting her tweets and her twitter bio—it’s actually an account maintained by fans of hers– i think the bio was changed to reflect that. Congratulations, Anna!