The packed amphitheatre of the Hellenic Olympic Committee hosted with great success, on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, the Olympic preparation Scholarships Awards Ceremony of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, with the participation, for the second year running, of two additional foundations, the Hellenic Initiative and the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation.

With a vision of supporting Olympism and the hopes of young athletes, the three organisations joined forces in order to help athletes from Greece and Cyprus who continue their strenuous training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, awarding a total of 41 scholarships to athletes of both genders who excelled in their performance in 2017.

The key speaker of the evening, silver medallist in the Rio Olympics, Spyros Gianniotis, told his personal story in sports, and shared his own difficult journey, as well as his thoughts on what it means to be a winner, what it takes to keep your faith in yourself and do the right thing even in the most challenging moments – and was applauded by the audience. The event was addressed by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr. Spyros Capralos, who praised the dedication of the athletes and stressed the importance of private initiative in supporting Olympic preparation. The Chairman of the Olympic Preparation Scholarship Committee of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, Harry G. David, remarked upon the Foundation’s traditional commitment to promoting sports, through a scholarship programme celebrating almost two decades of life, as well as on the new collaboration of three foundations to actively support excellence.

Many of the stars of Greek sports – champions and Olympic medallists – were in attendance to pay homage to the event, and moved the audience by taking part in presenting the awards to the scholars. Among them were Lefteris Petrounias, Pavlos Kagialis, Sofia Bekatorou, Dimosthenis Tambakos and Vasiliki Millousi.

The event was attended, among many others, by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr. Spyros Capralos, the Chairman of the Olympic Preparation Scholarship Committee of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, Harry G. David, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Athens, Kyriakos A. Kenevezos, the Secretary of the Executive Board to the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Dimitris Afendoulis, and the Management Consultant to the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Kostas Kallitsis, as well as by eminent personalities from the world of sports, business and academia and representatives from NGOs, including the Network for Children’s Rights and the Chatzikiriakeio Foundation of Child Support.

Olympic Preparation Scholarships Programme

From 1999 and for the 19 years since, the Olympic Preparation Scholarships Programme of the A.G. Leventis Foundation has supported those who train hard, often under unfavourable conditions, so that they may compete on equal terms with the best in the world in the upcoming Olympic Games. Until the present day, more than 450 annual scholarships have focused on this promising new generation of champions, offering athletes from Greece and Cyprus the opportunity to dedicate themselves fully to their effort for distinction. This year, for the second year running, The Hellenic Initiative and the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation join their forces with the A.G. Leventis Foundation, in their common desire to support both excellence, the Olympic spirit and “fair play”, and the hopes of our athletes in their painstaking preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.