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Blood, Sweat and Happy Tears: Top six Greek moments from the Tokyo Olympics

Andriana Simos
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Blood, Sweat and Happy Tears: Top six Greek moments from the Tokyo Olympics

With the Tokyo Summer Olympics over for this year and the Paralympics set to begin in two weeks, The Greek Herald has decided to fill the gap in our television viewing with our top six Greek moments from this year’s Games.

1. The Opening and Closing Ceremony’s:

The was a strong Greek presence at both the Opening and Closing Ceremony’s of the Tokyo Olympics this year.

Greek flag bearers, Eleftherios Petrounias and Anna Korakaki, kicked off the Opening Ceremony as they proudly walked out first with the Greek flag, followed closely by the rest of the athletes.

Petrounias came out in a traditional black suit, while Korakaki and the other female athletes wore an elegant blue and white dress.

Greek flag raised at the Olympic closing ceremony.

READ MORE: Strong Greek and Australian presence at closing ceremony of Tokyo Olympics.

During the Closing Ceremony, the Greek flag was carried by the captain of the men’s national water polo team, Giannis Fountoulis.

As is tradition, the Greek flag flew proudly at the closing ceremony alongside the host country’s. The Greek National Anthem was also played loudly.

2. Greek rower, Stefanos Ntouskos, and long jumper, Miltiadis Tentoglou, win Olympic gold medals:

Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece beat an Olympic record and won gold in the men’s single sculls at Tokyo’s Sea Forest Waterway.

It was the first time Greece had ever won a gold medal in the rowing competition at the Olympics.

READ MORE: Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskos wins Tokyo Olympics gold in men’s single sculls.

Greek rower, Stefanos Ntouskos.

On his return to Ioannina in Greece, Stefanos was given a hero’s welcome as he did a victory lap around the city’s main square aboard an army Jeep, with a police motorcycle escort.

Ntouskos was also crowned with an olive wreath by Epirus Regional Governor, Alexandros Kachrimanis, and congratulated for this performance in the Tokyo Games by Ioannina Mayor, Moisis Elisaf.

READ MORE: Olympic Gold winner, Stefanos Ntouskos, given hero’s welcome in native Ioannina.

For his part, Miltiadis Tentoglou won gold for Greece with his final effort in the men’s long jump.

He jumped 8.41 metres and was followed close behind by Juan Miguel Echeverria at 8.41m and Maykel Masso 8.21m.

READ MORE: Miltiadis Tentoglou wins Tokyo Olympics gold for Greece in the men’s long jump final.

3. Greece’s men’s water polo team win first-ever Olympic silver medal:

After a nail-biting men’s water polo final, Greece claimed its first ever Olympic silver medal after losing to Serbia 10-13.

Alexandros Papanastasiou of Greece reacts after scoring. Photo: Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes.

With five minutes to spare, Serbia scored two more goals and ultimately defended their Rio 2016 Olympic title in men’s water polo.

In the lead up to the gold medal match, Greece had won six of its seven games at Tokyo 2020, with the only exception a 6-6 draw against Italy in the preliminary round. 

READ MORE: Greece win first-ever Olympic silver medal in men’s water polo final.

4. Eleftherios Petrounias wins Olympic bronze medal:

Eleftherios Petrounias won a Tokyo Olympics bronze medal for Greece in the men’s rings final.

Petrounias with his coach. Photo: Reuters / Mike Blake.

His score of 15.200 saw him place third after Liu Yang from China claimed a gold medal with 15.500 and You Hao from China won silver with 15.300.

This was Petrounias’ second Olympic medal in his legendary career and Greece’s third medal during the Tokyo Olympics.

READ MORE: Eleftherios Petrounias wins Tokyo Olympics bronze medal in men’s rings final.

5. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari team up to play Aussies, Ashleigh Barty and John Peers:

Greek Australians watched on the tennis quarterfinal as they cheered on both Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Team Greece and Ashleigh Barty and John Peers from Team Australia.

Ultimately Sakkari and Tsitsipas were defeated by the Aussie duo, 6-4, 4-6, [10-6], but it was still a fun and nail-biting game to watch.

READ MORE: Sakkari and Tsitsipas defeated by Aussie duo in Tokyo Olympics quarterfinal.

6. Greek Australian athletes make us proud:

The Australian Olympic Committee had 472 athletes competing at the Tokyo Games this year and among them were five Greek Australians: Dylan Pierias (football), Alexandra Aristoteli (rhythmic gymnastics), Taylah Tsitsikronis (softball), Anthony Hrysanthos and Lea Yanitsas (both water polo).

READ MORE: Greek Australians among the 472 athletes to represent Australia at Tokyo Olympics.

All of these athletes made us proud as they played for Australia in their respective sports. Water polo players, Anthony and Lea, helped their teams to a number of victories as goalies.

Dimitri Petratos signs with hometown club Western Sydney Wanderers FC

The Greek Herald
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Dimitri Petratos signs with hometown club Western Sydney Wanderers FC

Western Sydney Wanderers FC have confirmed the loan signing of Dimitri Petratos for the upcoming A-League season.

Growing up in Blacktown, Petratos is set to play for the Wanderers for the first time in his career following a season spent at Saudi Arabian side Al-Wehda where he featured in 28 matches and scored 10 goals.

Raised in the heart of Western Sydney, Petratos played his junior football at grassroots club, Blacktown Demons, before kicking off his senior football at Penrith Nepean FC.

Petratos broke onto the A-League scene in 2010 and went on to make over 200 appearances in the competition with 42 goals to his name at clubs Sydney FC, Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets.

The 28-year-old has frequented the Socceroos squad and last played in 2019 in a friendly against the Korea Republic, as well as going to Russia in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Petratos said he was proud to represent his hometown club for the first time in his career. 

“It’s exciting (to sign for the Wanderers) because I get to represent the place where I grew up in,” Petratos said.

“I’ve always wanted to play for the Wanderers but always something else popped up. So now it’s finally time for me to play for the team where I grew up. I’ll give my everything for the club.

“I’m not coming back to just be with my family and be in a comfort zone. I’m coming back to work hard. I want to win titles. I want to win the Grand Final. I want to come back and help the team achieve that stuff. 

“I’ll definitely have the support from my family. I’ve played once at Wanderland and they’ve built an amazing stadium and it was an exciting time when I played there.

Dimitri Petratos has frequented the Socceroos squad.

“So I’m looking forward to that being my home ground and I can’t wait to get out there.”

Petratos’ return to Western Sydney in the coming weeks is a homecoming that will see him not only reunite with his family in the region, but also some friends he’s made along the way of his career.

“I am long-time friends with Bernie (Ibini). It’s good to catch up and play with him again. We were friends in high school,” Petratos said.

“Steven Ugarkovic I played with for three years at Newcastle. We have a very good connection on the field.

“Terry Antonis, we are childhood family friends and we have known each other since we were five.

READ MORE: Western Sydney Wanderers FC: Terry Antonis returns, Johnny Koutroumbis signs deal.

“I’ve known Ramy (Najjarine) since he was 10 year’s old as he used to play with my brothers and he came to some of the Academy’s my father had back in the day. It will be good to catch up with him and help him out, he’s a young player with a lot of talent.”

Western Sydney Wanderers CEO, John Tsatsimas, welcomed Dimitri and his family to the club. 

“We welcome another Western Sydney boy back to the club for the 2021/22 season and we are excited to see what Dimi can bring to the club with his wealth of experience and leadership qualities,” Tsatsimas said.

“We wish him and his family a safe trip back to Australia and look forward to seeing him in the coming weeks.”

Head coach Carl Robinson said Dimi’s qualities will shine through at the Wanderers.

“First and foremost, Dimi is a fantastic person and someone any team is lucky to have in their dressing room and on the pitch,” Robinson said.

“Dimi has a great work ethic and understands what it takes to play in the A-League. He’s a naturally gifted footballer and will bring something special to our group of players which I am sure our fans and members will appreciate.

“We have a great deal of work to do, and we have a group that has grit and determination to get the job done on and off the pitch for this club.”

Source: Western Sydney Wanderers FC.

‘A ray of hope’: Alex Hawke MP discusses potential travel bubble between Australia and Greece

Andriana Simos
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‘A ray of hope’: Alex Hawke MP discusses potential travel bubble between Australia and Greece

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke MP, has provided an update to representatives from multicultural communities on Monday afternoon about the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccination roll-out and a potential travel bubble with Greece.

Minister Hawke was joined by Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd, and the Head of the Implementation and Primary Care Response and Chair of the Department’s CALD Communities COVID-19 Health Advisory Group, Dr Lucas de Toca.

Travel bubble with Greece:

During the video conference, Minister Hawke was asked by The Greek Herald about Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent discussion with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and whether a potential travel bubble between Greece and Australia was on the cards.

READ MORE: Greek and Australian Prime Ministers hold call to discuss COVID-19, vaccines and trade.

The Minister for Immigration stressed that while he understands the need for “a ray of hope” during this pandemic, a travel bubble with Greece will only be considered once Australia reaches a vaccination target of 80 percent.

(L-R) Dr Lucas de Toca, Professor Michael Kidd, Alex Hawke MP. Photo: The Greek Herald.

“In a sense, all countries are being considered for travel when we get to the right phase in the national roll out map that the Prime Minister has put together,” Minister Hawke said.

“I think it’s important to be frank about where we are at. For Phase C to happen, we need to get to the 80 percent vaccination target… and then we can transition to countries for travel.”

Minister Hawke added that the different vaccinations which are available to people around the world also needs to be considered before international travel is possible.

“Systems are being developed to recognise and deal with different vaccines, deal with travel. In the Australian Government, we’re investing heavily in border management and digital recognition of vaccinations so we can be ready to travel,” he said.

Rise in people getting vaccinated:

On the topic of vaccination, Professor Kidd said although vaccination rates differ between different multicultural groups and early concerns about blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine did lead to some hesitancy, the Federal Government has still seen a recent rise in people getting vaccinated.

“We have seen a real reversal of the hesitancy that we were seeing a few months ago. The number of people who are prepared to get a vaccine right now has gone up considerably,” the Deputy Chief Medical Officer said.

READ MORE: Dr Voutos and Dr Keramianakis join ‘culturally inclusive’ medical health centre in Bankstown.

“Some of that is related to more points of access for the vaccine with local General Practices, GP’s and their staff who speak the language of their patient populations, and pharmacies as well have been very important.”

There has been a rise in people getting vaccinated.

Professor Kidd then went on to give two important messages to multicultural communities about: (1) the need to get people aged 60 and over “vaccinated right now,” and (2) the need for aged care workers to have at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before September 27 otherwise they won’t be able to keep working in the health sector.

READ MORE: Dr James Giallussi helps convey COVID-19 messages to Sydney’s Greek community.

Support for small businesses in NSW:

Before the conclusion of the video conference, Minister was asked one final question regarding his thoughts on criticisms around the roll out of small business payments in New South Wales at the moment.

Minister Hawke acknowledged that it is “very unfair” some retail sectors are thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic while small businesses aren’t, and stressed that the NSW Government need to speed up the handing out of support payments.

“From a Federal Government’s point of view, we are paying 50 percent of the bill for the business support and that’s important, but the state is administering the payments at the moment and that will need to be brought forward,” Minister Hawke said.

“I know they’re doing their absolute best right now to get those payments processed, to get them done faster and to ensure that businesses get their money.”

This positive news comes as NSW recorded 356 new local COVID-19 infections today, the highest since the pandemic began, sparking fears of a lockdown extension and the closure of more small businesses.

Teachers in elite Sydney schools use private Pfizer hubs as those in hotspots remain at risk

The Greek Herald
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Teachers in elite Sydney schools use private Pfizer hubs as those in hotspots remain at risk

Some of Sydney’s private schools have been able to vaccinate their staff through internal programs, raising questions about the equity of the rollout as thousands of teachers in some of the city’s worst-hit areas remain unvaccinated and at risk.

According to The Australian, Pymble Ladies’ College on the upper north shore has set up a ­private clinic on-site, after a local GP sent an email to the principal offering to keep aside Pfizer doses so they could be given to all staff aged 40 to 59.

The school’s principal, Kate Hadwen, said she “jumped” at the opportunity to be given the doses from the doctor and was “really proud” to have been able to get them all done.

Pymble Ladies College is vaccinating staff in private Pfizer hubs.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’ve vaccinated staff as per the NSW guidelines and it has not been inequitable. It was just opportunistic for us to support the government’s movement to help get people vaccinated,” Ms Hadwen told The Australian.

They’re not alone. The Australian reports that schools such as Barker College in Hornsby, which is one of Sydney’s largest co-educational Anglican schools, and Knox Grammar School in Wahroonga have also offered private Pfizer vaccinations for staff.

Both of these schools have leaned on nearby medical centres to provide them with vital Pfizer vaccines.

NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelo Gavrielatos, criticised the schools’ private vaccination programs, saying many teachers in Sydney’s worst affected areas have still not been offered access to the vaccine.

Angelo Gavrielatos has criticised the private Pfizer hubs.

While vaccination rates per profession is not publicly available, data released last week shows the North Sydney and Hornsby area has the highest vaccination rates in Greater Sydney, with 52 per cent of adults having at least a first dose.

The epicentre of the outbreak in southwest Sydney has the lowest inoculation rate in NSW with just 14.7 per cent fully vaccinated.

Mr Gavrielatos said vaccination must be prioritised for teachers most at risk of catching the virus across all impacted local government areas, and called on the government to intervene against inequitable distribution.

Source: The Australian.

NSW Police push ahead with probe into Bill Papas and Forum Group

The Greek Herald
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NSW Police push ahead with probe into Bill Papas and Forum Group

NSW Police’s Financial Crimes Squad is pushing ahead with a probe into Forum Group founder Bill Papas as Westpac and two other banks attempt to claw back funds lost in a $400 million alleged fraud.

According to The Australian, NSW Police referred the inquiries to the Financial Crimes Squad in late July after authorities were earlier alerted to allegations of fraudulent activity linked to equipment leases.

“In July this year, police received a report of an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud against a financial organisation,” a NSW Police spokeswoman said, according to The Australian.

“Initial inquiries were conducted by North Shore Police Area Command before the matter was referred to the State Crime Command’s Financial Crimes Squad. Inquiries are continuing and no further information is available at this time.”

Westpac has reported its allegations to NSW Police, the banking regulator and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission as it pursues Forum and Mr Papas in the Federal Court.

READ MORE: ‘Extreme anxiety and panic attacks’: Bill Papas breaks silence on Westpac fraud allegations.

Last week, affidavits by Mr Papas were made public, revealing an empire of fast cars, houses and business interests spanning the globe.

Papas in Thessaloniki, Greece. Photo: Australian Financial Review Weekend.

Mr Papas has been in Greece since June. He failed to show up for a meeting in Perth in the middle of that month to meet management of WesTrac to explain alleged account irregularities.

He initially pledged to return to Australia before testing positive to COVID-19, and then requesting funds for a return plane ticket.

Westpac has initiated court action against Mr Papas in both Australia and New Zealand.

READ MORE: Westpac slams Bill Papas evidence, Sydney tycoon pleads for cash to fly to Australia.

Source: The Australian.

Stefanos Tsitsipas overtakes Rafael Nadal and climbs to World No.3 ranking

Andriana Simos
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Stefanos Tsitsipas overtakes Rafael Nadal and climbs to World No.3 ranking

Greek tennis star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, reached a career high on Monday, when he officially ranked among the top three tennis players in the world, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

The new ranking sees Tsitsipas overtake Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, in the World No.3 ranking.

Tsitsipas has won 4660 points in 2021, and Nadal could not follow that pace, winning two titles but failing to reach a Major final.

“Being at the ranking that I will be tomorrow, it is a huge motivation and a very good indication that I’ve done great so far,” Tsitsipas told ATP before the ranking announcement this morning.

“[I am] just generally blessed that I’ve put in so much work to make it to the top three, which [I would consider] quite a special milestone.”

Tsitsipas first cracked the Top 10 more than two years ago after a run to the Dubai final. But the Greek sees this accomplishment on another level.

“That [Top 10 breakthrough] was a great dream of mine being fulfilled. The top three is on its own, something completely different,” Tsitsipas said.

“My purpose of doing this is self-improvement and trying to become a better person through tennis, so it matters.”

The Greek will not stop pushing to improve, though.

“I wake up every single day with a goal: to get better. To get better with my tennis, to get better in the sport that I chose to follow in my life,” Tsitsipas said.

“I’m very happy I get to play that sport. I’m very happy that I get to inspire people doing what I do.”

Greek PM apologises over fire-fighting failures, approves funding for wildfire relief

The Greek Herald
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Greek PM apologises over fire-fighting failures, approves funding for wildfire relief

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, apologised on Monday “for any weaknesses” in containing the massive wildfires that have destroyed swathes of forest land and forced hundreds of people to evacuate numerous settlements over the past week.

“I completely understand the pain of our fellow citizens who saw their homes or property burning,” Mitsotakis said in a televised message, noting that the first priority was “to save lives.”

“It is obvious that the climate crisis is affecting the whole planet. With fires that last for days. That is the explanation, but not an excuse, or an alibi. We may have done everything that was humanly possible, but in many cases this did not seem to be enough in the unequal battle with nature.

“The extent of the destruction blackens our hearts, I apologise for the losses.”

READ MORE: ‘Our village is dead’: Fires continue to ravage Evia island, two firefighters in critical condition.

Mitsotakis said any failures in Greece’s firefighting response will be identified, those responsible will be held to account and people whose property was destroyed will be compensated.

He said 63 organised evacuations took place in the past few days while 586 fires broke out all around the country, which were made worse by the continuing heatwave.

Mitsotakis has been visiting areas of Greece impacted by the fires.

In the same message, he announced that he had approved a supplemental budget of 500 million euros ($587 million) to fund relief and compensation for people who have lost homes and property.

The Prime Minister will chair a cabinet meeting on Tuesday which will announce specific relief measures.

He also thanked countries that are assisting Greece with fire-fighters and equipment.

READ MORE: Greek diaspora in Australia and worldwide unite to assist wildfire devastated Greece.

In response to this apology, the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party called Mitsotakis “provocative” and “unrepentant.”

“Mitsotakis only apologised because his communication experts asked him to, but nobody understood why, since he himself doesn’t believe it” the party said in a statement.

“In the midst of a continuing tragedy the premier talked only about himself and his supposed successes, including the pandemic. Nothing was said about the collapse of the so-called executive state in the latest fires.”

Source: Ekathimerini.

‘Our village is dead’: Fires continue to ravage Evia island, two firefighters in critical condition

The Greek Herald
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‘Our village is dead’: Fires continue to ravage Evia island, two firefighters in critical condition

Firefighters and residents battled into the night on Monday for a seventh day against a massive fire on Greece’s second-largest island, as the nation endured what the Prime Minister described as “a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions.”

Smoke and ash from Evia, a rugged island of forests and coves close to the Greek mainland, blocked out the sun and turned the sky orange.

The fire, which began August 3, is the most severe of hundreds in the past week across Greece, gobbling up pristine pine forests as well as homes and businesses and forcing thousands to quickly evacuate by sea to save their lives.

An elderly woman helped by paramedics, disembarks from a ferry which accommodated people, during a wildfire at Pefki village on Evia island. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Karadjias.

“We were completely forsaken. There were no fire brigades, there were no vehicles, nothing!” David Angelou, who had been in the seaside village of Pefki, said on Sunday night after leaving by ferry to the mainland.

“You could feel the enormous heat, there was also a lot of smoke. You could see the sun, a red ball, and then, nothing else around.”

Greek media reported that multiple previously extinguished fires had reignited on Evia on Monday and were moving at speed towards yet more villages and the 7,000-population town of Istaia.

A firefighter and locals rush to a burning house to extinguish forest fires that are approaching Pefki village, Evia. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty Images.

“Our main income comes from tourism and now our village is dead. Who wants to have their vacations on a scorched ground?” local Evia resident, Dimitra, told Al Jazeera.

Other big wildfires were still burning Monday in Greece’s southern Peloponnese region as well.

Over the past week, hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed or damaged, and at least 40,000 hectares (nearly 100,000 acres) have been burned. Power cuts on Monday affected at least 17,000 households.

Greek firefighting forces have been clearly overwhelmed, prompting two dozen countries to send help. Nine planes, nearly 1,000 firefighters and 200 vehicles have been dispatched to Greece by France, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Romania, with Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia making further offers to help over the weekend.

Firefighters operate at Ellinika village on Evia island. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Karadjias.

The causes of the blazes are as yet undetermined, though several people have been arrested for alleged arson. Greece’s top prosecutor has ordered an investigation into whether the high number of fires could be linked to criminal activity.

Two volunteer firefighters in critical condition:

The two volunteer firefighters aged 55 and 53, who were rushed to the KAT hospital in Athens on Friday, remained in critical condition on Monday.

According to a medical announcement, the two men have extensive burns and severe respiratory issues and were on mechanical ventilators in the intensive care unit.

Two other volunteer forest firefighters, 57 and 33, who suffered burns to their upper limbs, were being treated in the Plastic Surgery Burns Unit in stable condition.

Moreover, a 32-year-old Israeli firefighter was admitted earlier in the morning yesterday to the ICU at the Sismanogleio Hospital in Athens with an eyelid injury. He was given first aid and returned to the Afidnes area, where a group of firefighters from Israel is operating.

In addition, a 38-year-old man from Ilia was being treated at a hospital in Patra, western Greece after an object got lodged in his eye as he struggled to put out the fires.

Source: AP News, Ekathimerini.

Insights or Perspectives: Learning Greek during lockdown?

The Greek Herald
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Insights or Perspectives: Learning Greek during lockdown?

Part 40

By Eleni Elefterias

So you have decided to allow your child to continue Greek lessons with their class teachers online.

Congratulations, you are a dedicated parent.

Very young students, however, need parental support to be able to do this successfully. Unfortunately for many, the helpful grandparents are just not available to help, especially with the Covid restrictions. That means that mum or dad needs to take control of the situation.

Firstly, talk to your child before the lesson and explain what is happening and why. Tell them what is expected of them and that you will be there to help.

Secondly, make sure everything works. The computer, the internet, the sound and the video.

Thirdly, it is a good idea, if you can get some indication of what the lesson will be about from the teacher or the school, as children need to know the purpose of their lesson otherwise they will feel lost and lose interest.

With this information a parent can be the best support for their chid and a great help to the teacher, allowing him or her to concentrate on the lesson rather than wasting time with technical issues that are bound to come up during the lesson.

Lastly, be there to help your child share his/ her screen of necessary, annotate when asked to, mute when they have to and unmute when they need to talk.

Technical issues are the biggest reasons children give up on the lesson and stop taking part.

If you have more than one child, it is very difficult to do. You may have to spend some time with one child and some with the other.

Make sure each child has their own study space away from younger siblings, who may distract them.

If you value what they are doing by making sure they have peace and quite to do their work, they will value what they are doing too.

I hope the advice on these columns has been useful to some of you and wish you all the best as we look forward to a future out of this Covid nightmare.

*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer. 

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The 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, a Greek migrant and her wedding dress

Andriana Simos
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The 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, a Greek migrant and her wedding dress

The year was 1956 in Melbourne and the streets were filled with a festive atmosphere as people prepared for the arrival of athletes from across the world to perform in the Olympic Games.

Greek migrant, Nina Kondelos, was one of these people and as she became excited for the Games, she also began to imagine what her wedding dress would look like when she married the man of her dreams, Nicholaos, early the next year at the age of 22.

In the end, she wore a flowing white wedding dress from a bridal shop in Collins Street, Melbourne, with long sleeves and a cheeky twist – the Olympic rings embroidered around the bodice and waist.

Nina with her Olympics inspired wedding dress. Photo supplied.

“The Olympics were such a big thing here in Melbourne at the time and the Greeks would have been really proud that it started in Greece,” Debbie Argyropoulos, Nina’s daughter, tells The Greek Herald exclusively.

“Mum would usually make her own clothes but in this particular case she was lucky enough to have her wedding dress done at a beautiful bridal shop.”

Love at first sight:

Such a beautifully inspired dress was fit for a young girl like Nina who first migrated to Melbourne from Ithaca, Greece in 1953 after an earthquake devastated the island.

Her later-husband, Nicholaos, also migrated to the city in 1954 from the Greek island of Lesvos and Debbie says when he first laid eyes on Nina, it was love at first sight.

“My dad spotted her at some Greek dances and he said to his friend, ‘If I could, I would marry her straight away’,” Debbie says.

It was love at first fight for Nina and Nicholaos. Photo supplied.

A second chance meeting at a Greek cinema a few days later and then again at Nicholaos’ workplace at the Astor Radio Company sealed the deal.

“At work one day, lo and behold, dad looked up and she was coming in to get a job,” Debbie says with a laugh.

The rest, as they say, was history.

Nicholaos and Nina enjoyed their Olympics inspired wedding, had their first born son Foti (Philip) and when he was two years old in 1960, bought a fruit shop in Brighton called ‘Fresh Connection.’ Later, they had two other children, Debbie and Theo.

Finding the dress:

Although Nina has sadly passed away, her legacy lives on through her husband and children.

Debbie with her mum’s wedding dress. Photo supplied.

In fact, after 61 years, Debbie and Theo are still running their parent’s fruit shop and in a nice turn of events, it was at this shop where Debbie found her mother’s wedding dress again after many years.

“I didn’t think mum had the dress anymore and then when she passed away, I found it and I found it the same year as the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004,” Debbie says.

“I found it that year in a cupboard at our shop upstairs and I was really thrilled. I felt like it was sort of meant to be.

“It’s quite delicate now given so many years but it’s all in one piece.”

A special memento of a mother who clearly had a flair for fashion.

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