April 8, 2003
Now 22, Tsavdaridou is the most successful Greek female gymnast to date. In 1994 Tsavdaridou won the bronze medal on vault at the Junior European Championships and finished second all-around at the McDonald's American Cup. At the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, she led the Greek team to an Olympic berth to the centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. At the 1996 World Championships in Puerto Rico, Tsavdaridou made finals on three of the four events. At the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, she finished fifth on floor exercise.
Tsavdaridou initially left gymnastics in 1999, after the Greek team did not qualify to the 2000 Olympic Games. In 2002, she returned to win the vault title at the Greek National Championships, but was not subsequently invited to join the preparation center for the women's national team.
"To me, the victory in the Greek Championships wasn't the end in itself," said Tsavdaridou after her comeback win. "It was just a way to show that I am still able to compete at the top level. I hope that now everyone sees that they have made a mistake by not including me in the Olympic preparation program. I still have much to give and I'm only asking for a chance to enter the national team preparation. If I have the optimum preparation conditions which the other gymnasts have, my start values and routine execution will get much better, compared to what I did in the national championships. Additionally—regardless of which Greek female gymnasts make it onto the world team—I think that during the preparation course my experience will be very helpful to the young girls who are now seniors this year."
The Greek women's junior title was won by Stefani Bisbikou over Maria Apostolidi. Both gymnasts are age-eligible to compete at the 2003 World Championships.
Two-time world high bar champion Vlasios Maras defended his all-around title. However, Maras and the other top names did not participate in the event finals, choosing to travel instead to Athens to take part in a world peace demonstration.
1996 Olympic floor exercise champion Ioannis Melissanidis had planned to compete a few events, but withdrew because of shoulder pain. Last weekend, Melissanidis returned to competition at the "NOYNOY" Grand Prix, also held in Thessaloniki.
April 4-6
Thessaloniki
All-Around
1. Vassiliki Tsavdaridou
2. Sofia Tsegkeli
3. Vassiliki Milloussi
Senior
Vault
T1. Vassiliki Tsavdarisou
T1. Sofia Tsegkeli
Senior
Bars
1. Vassiliki Tsavdaridou
T2. Sofia Tsegkeli
T2. Vassiliki Milloussi
Senior
Beam
1. Vassiliki Tsavdaridou
2. Sofia Tsegkeli
3. Vassiliki Milloussi
Senior
Floor
1. Vassiliki Tsavdaridou
2. Sofia Tsegkeli
3. Vassiliki Milloussi
34.650
33.600
32.800
8.900
8.900
8.500
8.200
8.200
8.100
7.900
7.725
8.800
8.100
7.850
All-Around
1. Stefani Bisbikou
2. Maria Apostolidi
3. Victoria Tsakilidou
Junior
Vault
1. Eugenia Zafeiraki
2. Stefani Bisbikou
3. Maria Mastrogiannopoulou
Junior
Bars
1. Maria Apostolidi
2. Victoria Tsakalidou
3. Maria Mastrogiannopoulou
Junior
Beam
1. Stefani Bisbikou
2. Lina Mitrakou
3. Maria Apostolidi
Junior
Floor
1. Stefani Bisbikou
2. Victoria Tsakilidou
3. Maria Mastrogiannopoulou
35.400
34.750
34.600
8.750
8.700
8.475
8.700
8.450
8.250
8.700
8.625
8.300
8.750
8.400
8.200
International Gymnast Online News Archive April 2003