Helping young athletes dream big:  The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation joins the A. G. Leventis Foundation to support Greek and Cypriot athletes training for the 2020 Olympic Games

In their shared belief in the importance of supporting excellence and helping young people to attain their dreams, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation joins the A. G. Leventis Foundation to support Greek and Cypriot athletes as they start the taxing 4-year preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

The A. G. Leventis Foundation’s Olympic Preparation Scholarship Programme has been run with measurable success since its inception in 1999. For 18 years it has stood by those training hard, in often adverse circumstances, to compete alongside the champions of the world in that celebration of sportsmanship that constitutes the Olympic Games. Well over 400 awards have been granted over the years – all with the aim of counteracting the severe lack of available sports funding and  offering promising Greek and Cypriot athletes opportunities to train better, and compete more successfully, on the international scene.

Mr. Dimitrios Afendoulis, Secretary of the Executive Board of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, commented:

“Given its permanent quest for collaboration and multi-faceted support for successful initiatives of other institutions, it is a great honour for the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation to be participating in the A. G. Leventis Foundation's Olympic Preparation Scholarship Programme. As the terrain par excellence for encouraging unity, interest and pride in Greeks everywhere, sports once again serve as the connecting link bringing together those with the economic means and those entitled to cherish the Olympic dream.” 

Mr. Harry G. David, Chairman of the A. G. Leventis Foundation’s Olympic Preparation Committee noted:

“Competing in the Olympics is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So is the task of supporting our Olympic champions: one has to be in it for the long-run. We are particularly pleased to have partners like the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, who recognize the success of our Olympic preparation Scholarships and are joining us in strengthening this endeavour. This commitment, like that of The Hellenic Initiative that also recently joined the Programme, is tangible proof that Greek and Cypriot athletes are not in this alone.”

Working together, the three Foundations will grant 41 athletic scholarships for 2016-2017, to Greek and Cypriot athletes competing in summer Olympic individual sports, as well as 2 scholarships to the first Greek male and female runner respectively to cross the finish line of the 34th Athens Classic Marathon.