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Roundup: Greece mayor says to build new shooting range for Olympic gold medalist

Xinhua, August 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

As Greece was preparing on Thursday to welcome shooter Anna Korakaki who gave the country a gold medal in the Rio Olympic Games, the municipal authorities of her hometown Drama has pledged to set up new and decent training facilities for athletes and youths who will decide to follow Korakaki's footsteps.

Korakaki was expected to reach Drama, northern Greece, on Thursday evening with her father and also coach Tassos Korakakis. Greek officials and ordinary people were eager to welcome the "golden girl" which made a historic achievement in Rio.

The 20-year-old athlete won the gold medal in the women's 25-meter pistol on Tuesday and a bronze in the 10-meter air pistol a few hours earlier, becoming the first Greek athlete to win two medals in the same Olympics after the 1912 Games, when Konstantinos Tsiklitiras won gold and bronze medals in the standing long and high jump events.

Her historic victory for Greece shed light on the difficult conditions under which several Greek athletes have to train due to dramatic austerity cuts implemented since 2009 in all sectors to keep the debt-ridden country afloat.

The Greece's champion, along with other 300 athletes, was training for the Olympics in a makeshift shooting range which was knocked down by the municipal authorities this week as unacceptable.

Mayor of Drama Christodoulos Mamsakos promised that a new modern shooting range will be installed for Anna and the kids who will take up shooting after her success.

"Today it is not only Drama who celebrates, but the entire Greece, the entire country is celebrating Anna's success," Mamsakos told Xinhua.

"Although the municipality of Drama does not have the responsibility (for sports facilities), we are trying to assist Anna Korakaki and all younger people who would like to take up shooting, because the training facilities are not appropriate. We have decided to fill in the gaps left by the state," he said.

"The Municipality of Drama will create a shooting range to allow this young athlete to keep training, because, as you know, Anna is only 20 years old. She can compete in several Olympics and win more medals. In addition, Anna's example may prompt several younger children to take up sports and shooting," he stressed.

Over the past three years, Anna, her father and her 18-year-old brother Dionysis who is also a shooter, were hosted at the training facilities of Drama's Shooting Association.

Constantinos Lakovikiotis, president of the Association, gave Xinhua a tour at the facilities and said that everyone who knew Korakaki was certain she would reach the top one day.

"We expected that Anna will be distinguished at some point. It was clear from her constant improvement in all sports she participated, the 10-meter air pistol and the women's 25-meter pistol. She was trying to qualify for the Olympics for quite some time and she made it. We were certain that she will do well in the Games. Eventually she gave us the greatest joy she could give us-- the gold medal," he said. Enditem