Grigorios Polychronidis

Started: He first tried the sport in 2001 and began competing the following year. (gregpoly.gr, 12 Apr 2014) Reason: He took up the sport with the ambition to compete at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. "I contacted my former physiotherapist George Tzimas, who encouraged me to take up the sport. Initially I did not even know about the existence of boccia. I was thrilled when I first engaged with the sport. My greatest motivation was the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games and since I'm living in Athens, it was like a dream to compete in these Games. I gave everything I could, and thankfully managed to participate in my first Paralympics." (Athlete, 26 Aug 2024; paralympicus.gr, 03 Nov 2015; gregpoly.gr, 12 Apr 2014; tokyo2020.org, 17 Sep 2020; paralympic.org, 28 Mar 2024) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 28 Mar 2024) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo he became the first Greek boccia player to win six Paralympic medals in the sport [no other Greek athlete has won more than two]. At the 2016 Games, he became the first Greek boccia player to win two medals in the sport at the same Games, a feat he also repeated in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) He became the first athlete representing Greece to win a medal in boccia at the Paralympic Games when he claimed silver in the BC3 individual event at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Four years later his gold medal at the 2012 Games made him the first Greek boccia player to win more than one Paralympic medal in the sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 17 Mar 2020; paralympic.org, 09 Mar 2021) Awards: He and Anna Ntenta were named Para Team of the Year at the 2021 PSAT Top Athletes Awards in Greece. (Facebook profile, 22 Dec 2021) He was named the 2018 Best Male Athlete with an Impairment at the Gazzetta Awards in Greece. (newsitamea.gr, 04 Jan 2019) In August 2018 he was named the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] Athlete of the Month after winning two gold medals at the 2018 World Championships in Liverpool, England. (paralympic.org, 11 Sep 2018) He was flag bearer for Greece at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (myinfo.rio2016.com, 06 Sep 2016) He and fellow Greek boccia players Nikolaos Pananos and Anna Ntenta were named the 2015 Best Team of the Year with an Impairment by the Panhellenic Association of Sports Press [PSAT] in Greece. (paralympic.org, 04 Jan 2016) In 2004 he was named an Honorary Citizen of Athens by the Greek parliament. (gregpoly.gr, 01 Dec 2011) Additional Info: FAMILY AFFAIR His wife Katerina Polychronidi is his assistant at boccia competitions. "I train every day and compete with my wife, Katerina Polychronidi, who is my sport assistant. We have great chemistry between us and we use an effective communication code. For example, I can say a word and she must understand 10 actions because I have my mind inside the game and I can't lose time explaining. Usually, the person is very close to the athlete. With Katerina it is something magnificent, something wonderful and the benefit of my game has made it faster." (paralympic.org, 07 Dec 2023) OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2023 he was appointed a member of the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] athletes' committee, and also became president of the Hellenic Paralympians Association. He has also served as vice chair of the athletes' committee with World Boccia. (worldboccia.com, 05 Jan 2024; paralympic.gr, 14 Nov 2023; runbeat.gr, 29 Mar 2023) FROM GEORGIA TO GREECE Born in Georgia, he moved to Greece with his family at age eight. (paralympic.org, 27 Sep 2011)

Sporting Relatives: His wife Katerina Polychronidi has served as his sports assistant at competitions. Prior to that, his father served as his ramp operator. (paralympic.org, 07 Dec 2023; paralympic.org, 28 Mar 2024)