Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-08-20

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] A WEEK OF RECORDS

[02] THE TRACK AND FIELD BATTLE

[03] GREECE RANKS 10TH AMONG THE OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS

[04] THE GREEK HANDBALL TEAM DEFEATED BRAZIL (26-22)

[05] GREEK DIVER EFTICHIA PAPPA QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMIFINAL

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[07] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE OLYMPIC GAMES TICKET SALES

[08] ROUSOPOULOS ON THE COST OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

[09] THE OLYMPIC GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY

[10] NEW ANTI-DOPING VIOLATION

[01] A WEEK OF RECORDS

The first week of the Athens Olympic Games closes successfully and already the first records have been broken, stated Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos.

Referring particularly to the records broken outside the stadiums, Mr. Rousopoulos underlined the record set in the number of participating countries (202 countries), the record in the number of participating athletes (11,047 athletes), the record number of journalists covering the Olympic events (21,500 accredited journalists), the number of television viewers (about 4 billion) as well as, the record broken in the participation of women athletes which is at 41% compared to 38% in Sydney.

Also, a record has been broken in the Olympic Games ticket sales as the demand increases on a daily basis.

[02] THE TRACK AND FIELD BATTLE

The Track and Field events, that are expected to offer great excitement to millions of sports fans around the world, got underway in the presence of 40,000 spectators in the Athens Olympic Stadium.

In the opening day of the Track and Field events Greek athlete Christos Meletoglou qualified for the men's Triple Jump final with 17.06 m, while Alexandros Papadimitriou did not qualify for the Shot Put final.

Meletoglou stated that he will do better in Sunday's final.

The Greek athletes competing in women's Discus Throwing are Tasoula Kelesidou (Olympic silver medal in Sydney), Katerina Voggoli and Stella Tsikouna.

[03] GREECE RANKS 10TH AMONG THE OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS

The Greek Sailing won its first gold medal in the Olympic Games in Athens. The Greek crew of Sophia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa won the gold in the women's 470 class without having to compete in the 11th and last sailing race.

We wanted to paint on the sea and we managed to do it, stated Sophia Bekatorou.

The gold in sailing will bring Greece to the 10th place among the Olympic medal winners.

[04] THE GREEK HANDBALL TEAM DEFEATED BRAZIL (26-22)

The Greek Handball team dominated over the Brazilians 26-22 in the Men's Preliminaries Pool B Match 21 that took place on the 4th day of the Olympic Tournament, securing at least the 4th place in Pool B.

The Greek Handball team will compete in Tuesday's quarterfinals and regardless of the results it will participate in the final phase.

[05] GREEK DIVER EFTICHIA PAPPA QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMIFINAL

Greek athlete Eftichia Pappa qualified for the semifinal of the women's 10 m Springboard with 307.65 points.

Eftichia Pappa occupied the 15th place among a total of 18 athletes who qualified for the semifinal.

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -1.34% at 2227.33 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 66.3 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 83 had gains and 184 had losses, while the value of 136 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE OLYMPIC GAMES TICKET SALES

The number of spectators in the Olympic stadiums should be counted taking under consideration the population of the city hosting the Olympic Games, pointed out Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos.

In Athens, have been sold about 5 million tickets, while in Sydney with a much larger population the tickets sold were 7 million and in Atlanta 10 million.

[08] ROUSOPOULOS ON THE COST OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

After the Olympic Games are over the government will present their complete economic analysis, stated Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos responding to a relevant question. However, he pointed out that most of the projects are infrastructure projects and not sports facilities.

Mr. Rousopoulos reminded that the Prime Minister has asked the government ministers to present to him proposals and plans for the post-Olympic use of the facilities constructed on the occasion of the Olympic Games.

[09] THE OLYMPIC GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY

Leading Greek singer Marinella will open the Athens Olympic Games closing ceremony, according to information.

Music composer and singer Dionisis Savvopoulos will allegedly be responsible for the coordination of the Athens Olympic Games closing ceremony. Among the singers to appear on the stage will be Alkistis Protopsalti, Anna Vissi and Eleftheria Arvanitaki, while Sakis Rouvas will be a guest star.

Dimitris Papaioannou will be the production manager and the goal is to make the Olympic Games' closing ceremony a great celebration.

[10] NEW ANTI-DOPING VIOLATION

A Greek athlete, who has already competed in the Athens Olympic Games, has tested positive in a drug test that was done after he competed.

The name of the athlete will be announced after the initial test results are confirmed with a second test that will be done today at the latest.

The Greek Olympic Committee has allegedly already been informed.

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