Mr. Bakoyannis honored the Greek Paralympic Team in an exceptional event at the SERAFION Sports Centre
The Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis proclaimed the Paralympic medalists of “TOKIO 2020” honorary citizens of the Municipality of Athens. Also all other athletes, Paralympians and non Paralympians as well as all members of the Hellenic Paralympic Delegation in Tokyo were awarded by Mr. Bakoyannis.
In an atmosphere of celebration, the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, welcomed on Thursday at the SERAFION Sports and Culture Centre the athletes and members of the Hellenic Paralympic Delegation for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, awarding them for their impressive participation. He was led by the President of the Hellenic Paralympic Committee Christos Kaloudis, whom Mr Bakoyannis honored with a special commemorative present and then Mr Kaloudis presented an award to the Mayor of Athens.
“Welcome to your home, Athens, the city that gave birth to the modern Olympic movement. You have offered us so much, generously “, Mr.Bakoyannis said in his speech, expressing his gratitude on behalf of the municipal authority and all Athenians for the tremendous effort made by the Greek athletes at the Paralympic Games, winning a total of 11 medals.
On the occasion of today’s event, the Mayor of Athens, addressing the members of the Greek delegation, referred to the mistakes and omissions of all the previous years, which made the city “hostile” -as he said- for people with disabilities, forcing them to live in conditions of confinement and hostage-taking. “We want you to feel free in the city, like in the stadiums and swimming pools. You deserve the respect of the city,” he said, announcing the city government’s plans to improve the quality of life for people facing some kind of disability.
Making a brief presentation of the planning of the Municipality of Athens, Mr Bakoyannis referred to a number of initiatives, noting however that “there are no magic wands” and that it will take time to complete all the projects.
Present at the award ceremony were -among others- the treasurer of the HPC Aris Pananos, the member of the HPC Ioannis Vatikiotis, the Chef de Mission TOKIO 2020, Anastasia Goufa, the President of the National Sports Federation for the People with Dissabilities, Ioanna Karyophylli, the General Secretary of NSFPD and Chief Doctor of the Team Spyros Spyrou as well as the Member of the National Sports Federation for the People with dissabilities, Konstantinos Siachos.
The event was also attended by representatives of the city’s municipal factions, who participated in the award ceremony of the 26 athletes, who were present.
“We were pleased that Mr.Bakoyannis awarded us,” said the Medalist, Athanasios Konstantinidis.
“We are doing our duty and we will always be ready for Greece to give whatever is asked of us.” concluded the silver Paralympian of “TOKYO 2020”
Paralympic fencing champion Panos Triantafyllou noted “we are pleased that Mr. Bakoyannis awarded us something that also our Prime Minister did some days ago. This was also done after Rio 2016 where I also won a silver medal. This means that the state recognizes our efforts.”
