Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou

Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou
Personal information
Born (1986-03-21) 21 March 1986 (age 38)
Athens, Greece
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Country Greece
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)4.81 m (i)
4.83 m

Nikoleta 'Nikol' Kyriakopoulou (Greek: Νικολέτα "Νικολ" Κυριακοπούλου, born 21 March 1986) is a Greek retired pole vaulter. Nikoleta was 8th at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. She also won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015 jumping 4.80m. During the 2015 season, she set five Greek records (indoor and outdoor) raising the bar to 4,83 meters.[1] The same year, she became the first Greek athlete to win the IAAF Diamond League.[2] During her career she broke 11 times the Greek Narional record (indoor and outdoor).

Her first success in a major event was in 2012 when she won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Helsinki. One year earlier, in 2011, she finished 8th at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. She also won the 2009 Mediterranean Games with a Games record of 4.50 meters, while as a junior athlete she was 6th at the World Championships in Grosseto in 2004.

Nikoleta did not compete in 2016 Rio Olympics due to injury.

In 2017 she became a mother of a baby girl and announced her return to competition for 2018. She won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championships and bronze medal at the European Championships in Glasgow in 2019.

She was named the Greek Female Athlete of the Year for 2015.[3] Nikoleta retired from competing in 2024 after 22 years of a successful career.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Greece
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 6th 4.00 m
2005 European Junior Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 7th 4.00 m
2007 Universiade Bangkok, Thailand 13th (q) 3.90 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 27th (q) 4.15 m
2009 Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 1st 4.50 m GR
World Championships Berlin, Germany 19th (q) 4.40 m
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd (q) 4.45 m[4]
European Championships Barcelona, Spain 13th (q) 4.25 m
2011 European Indoor Championships Paris, France 9th 4.35 m
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 8th 4.65 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 4.60 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 19th (q) 4.25 m
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 10th (q) 4.36 m
World Championships Moscow, Russia 13th (q) 4.45 m
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 12th 4.30 m
European Championships Zurich, Switzerland 7th 4.35 m
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 5th 4.50 m
World Championships Beijing, China 3rd 4.80 m
2015 IAAF Diamond League 1st details
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 6th 4.60 m
European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 4th 4.55 m
2018 Mediterranean Games Tarragona, Spain 3rd 4.31 m
European Championships Berlin, Germany 2nd 4.80 m
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, UK 3rd 4.65 m
World Championships Doha, Qatar 13th 4.50 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 8th 4.50 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 24th (q) 4.35 m
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 15th (q) 4.30 m

Personal bests

Event Record Date Venue
Pole vault outdoor 4.83 m 4 July 2015 Paris, France
Pole vault indoor 4.81 m 17 February 2016 Stockholm, Sweden

Personal life

Nikoleta is married and has a daughter. She partially hailed from Emmanouil Pappas, Serres.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Οι ακαδημίες του Μεσσηνιακού στον Μαραθώνιο Αθήνας".
  2. ^ "Νικόλ Κυριακοπούλου: Η καλλονή αθλήτρια από διαμάντι που δεν μασάει". 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Πετρούνιας, Κυριακοπούλου, Εθνική Πόλο Ανδρών και Ράφτης στους Κορυφαίους της Χρονιάς". ΠΣΑΤ - Πανελλήνιος Σύνδεσμος Αθλητικού Τύπου (in Greek). 22 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ No mark in the final
  5. ^ fremendog. "Νικόλ Κυριακοπούλου: "Είμαι μισή Μακεδόνισσα, οι παππούδες μου είναι από τον Εμμανουήλ Παππά Σερρών!!!"". serraikanea.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 4 February 2021.