Sofia Poumpouridou

Sofia Poumpouridou

Personal information
Full name	Sofia Poumpouridou
Nationality	Greece
Born	12 June 1980 Lugovoye, Jambyl Region, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight	55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Sport	Wrestling
Style	Freestyle
Club	Ephiridai Wrestling Club
Coach	Andreas Hristodoulakis
Medal record Women's freestyle wrestling Representing  Greece Mediterranean Games 2001 Tunis 51 kg 2005 Almería 55 kg World Championships 2002 Chalcis 51 kg European Championships 2001 Budapest 51 kg 2003 Riga 51 kg 2007 Sofia 55 kg

Sofia Poumpouridou (Greek: Σοφία Πουμπουρίδου; born June 12, 1980 in Lugovoye, Jambyl Region, Kazakh SSR) is a retired amateur Greek freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's lightweight category.^[1] Considered one of Europe's top female freestyle wrestlers in her decade, Poumpouridou has yielded a remarkable tally of six career medals, including two golds from the 2001 Mediterranean Games and 2002 World Wrestling Championships. She also had an opportunity to represent the host nation Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, finishing eleventh in the process.^[2] Throughout her sporting career, Poumpouridou trained full-time for Ephiridai Wrestling Club in Athens, under her personal coach Andreas Hristodoulakis.

Poumpouridou reached sporting headlines at the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis, Tunisia, where she picked up the gold medal in the women's 51 kg class. When Greece hosted the 2002 World Wrestling Championships in Chalcis, Poumpouridou enchanted the home crowd in a spectacular fashion, as she overwhelmed Japan's Chiharu Icho 3–0 and ran off the mat with another gold in the same division.^[3]

When women's wrestling made its debut the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Poumpouridou qualified for the Greek squad in the inaugural 55 kg class. She filled up an entry by the International Federation of Association Wrestling and the Hellenic Olympic Committee, as Greece received an automatic berth for being the host nation.^[2][4] Amassed the home crowd inside Ano Liossia Olympic Hall, Poumpouridou lost her opening match to France's Anna Gomis on technical superiority, and was wretchedly pinned by South Korea's Lee Na-lae that left her on the bottom of the prelim pool. Poumpouridou initially placed last out of twelve female wrestlers in the standings, but later upgraded to eleventh, as Puerto Rico's Mabel Fonseca was disqualified from the tournament after being tested positive for stanozolol.^[5][6]

In 2005, Poumpouridou missed her title defense with a bronze in the women's lightweight category (55 kg) at the Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain to cap off her sporting career.^[7]

References

1. "Sofia Poumpouridou". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
2. Με 18 παλαιστές στο ολυμπιακό ταπί της Αθήνας [18 wrestlers in the Olympic mat for Athens] (in Greek). To Vima. 24 March 2002. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
3. Economopoulos, Lou (9 August 2004). "Greeks aim for record haul at Athens". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
4. Abbott, Gary (17 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in women's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
5. "Wrestling: Women's Freestyle 55kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
6. Νέα κρούσματα - 11η η Πουμπουρίδου [New outbreaks: Poumpouridou finished eleventh] (in Greek). ANT1. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
7. Πήρε το χάλκινο η Πουμπουρίδου [Poumpouridou takes the bronze] (in Greek). NovaSport FM. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 4 August 2014.

External links

• Profile – International Wrestling Database