Ekaterini Thanou facts for kids

Ekaterini Thanou (born 1 February 1975), also known as Katerina Thanou, is a former Greek sprinter. She was a very fast runner, especially in the 100 metres and 60 metres races. She won many medals during her career.

One of her biggest achievements was winning a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She also became the European champion in 2002 for the 100 metres race. She won gold medals at indoor championships too, showing she was one of the best sprinters in the world.

Ekaterini was named the best female athlete in Greece several times. This happened in 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Challenges and Rules

Ekaterini Thanou faced some challenges during her career. Before the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, she missed a very important test. This was not the first time she had missed a test. Because of this, she was temporarily stopped from competing by the IAAF, which is the main group for track and field sports.

After some time, she was allowed to compete again. However, her coach was blamed for the missed tests.

Returning to Races

When Ekaterini Thanou returned to international races, she competed at the European Indoor Championships. She finished sixth in the 60 metres final.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Ekaterini Thanou won a silver medal in the 100 metres. The gold medal winner, Marion Jones, later had her medal taken away because she did not follow the rules. Even though Ekaterini Thanou came in second, she was not given the gold medal. This was because she also had issues with the rules. The IOC decided to keep the gold medal unawarded.

Ekaterini Thanou hoped to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the IOC decided that she could not participate. They said this was because of her past issues with the rules.

Fastest Times

Here are Ekaterini Thanou's personal best times in her main events:

Major Competitions

Ekaterini Thanou competed in many important races around the world. Here are some of her results:

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Greece
1994	World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	4th	100m	11.46 seconds
1995	World University Games	Fukuoka, Japan	2nd	100 m	11.30 seconds
1996	European Indoor Championships	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	60 m	7.15 seconds
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	7th (sf)	60 m	7.15 seconds
	World University Games	Catania, Italy	1st	100 m	11.20 seconds
	Mediterranean Games	Bari, Italy	1st	100 m	11.13 seconds
2nd			4 × 100 m relay	43.07 seconds
1998	European Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	4th	60 m	7.23 seconds
	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd	100 m	10.87 seconds
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	1st	60 m	6.96 seconds
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	3rd	100 m	10.84 seconds
2000	European Indoor Championships	Ghent, Belgium	1st	60 m	7.05 seconds
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	100 m	11.12 seconds
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	2nd	100 m	10.91 seconds
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	1st	100 m	11.10 seconds
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	3rd	100 m	11.03 seconds
2007	European Indoor Championships	Birmingham, Great Britain	6th	60 m	7.26 seconds

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