Voula Patoulidou

Paraskevi ("Voula") Patoulidou (Greek: Παρασκευή "Βούλα" Πατουλίδου, born 29 March 1965) is a Greek former athlete and politician. Born in Tripotamo (part of Florina prefecture), Patoulidou throughout her athletics career competed in the 100 metres, 100 metres hurdles and in the long jump events. In 1992, she was the surprise winner of the Women's 100 m hurdles race at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, and she was voted the Best Balkan Athlete that same year. She was named the Greek Female Athlete of the Year for 1990 and 1992.

Her Excellency Paraskevi "Voula" Patoulidou
Παρασκευή "Βούλα" Πατουλίδου
Patoulidou in 2024
Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 September 2014
Sports career
Nationality	Greek
Born	(1965-03-29) 29 March 1965 Florina, Kingdom of Greece
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Country	Greece
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Hurdling, Long Jump
Sports achievements and titles
Personal bests	12.64s NR (1992), (100m H) 6.71m (LJ)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing Greece Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona 100m Hurdles Mediterranean Games 1991 Athens 100m 1991 Athens 100m hurdles 1991 Athens 4 x 100m Relay

Her spouse is Dimitrios Zarzavatsidis. She is currently the Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki in the Region of Central Macedonia.

Personal bests

Date	Event	Venue	Performance
10 February 1990	60 metres	Ghent, Belgium	7.29s
4 March 1990	60m hurdles	Glasgow, Scotland	8.08s
14 July 1990	100 metres	Trikala, Greece	11.27s
6 August 1992	100m hurdles	Barcelona, Spain	12.64s NR
4 June 1995	Long jump	Chania, Greece	6.71m

Barcelona 1992

On 5 August 1992, Patoulidou qualified for the final in the 100 m hurdles by improving her personal best from 12.96 (set in the qualifying round) to 12.88 seconds in the semi-finals. This success made her the first Greek woman ever to reach a track final in the Olympic Games.

One day later, the clear favourite of the 100 m hurdles final, Gail Devers of the United States, made a mistake and tripped on the last hurdle. Patoulidou took advantage and lunged her body forward for the finishing line. She crossed the line in 12.64 seconds, a Greek national record that still stands.

After 1992

After her Olympic gold medal Patoulidou decided to switch back to the long jump, her first love, believing that she had achieved as much as possible in the 100 m hurdles. She is vindicated for her choice when she participated in her second Olympic Games Final, in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, finishing 10th.

In the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Patoulidou was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team that reached the semi-finals and ended up in the 13th place. She was given an honorary place in the 4 × 100 m relay team in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, participating for the fifth time in the Olympic Games at the age of 39.

She was the only woman amongst the five Greek sporting legends chosen to be the penultimate runners in the 2004 Olympic torch relay, along with Nick Galis, Mimis Domazos, Kakhi Kakhiashvili and Ioannis Melissanidis (see 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony). She was also one of the penultimate runners of the 1996 torch relay in Atlanta, joining Evander Holyfield and Janet Evans.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
1987	Mediterranean Games	Latakia, Syria	6th	Long jump	5.54m
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	41st (h)	100m	11.85
			15th (h)	4 × 100m relay	45.44
1989	European Indoor Championships	The Hague, Netherlands	9th (h)	60m	7.42
	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	11th (sf)	60m	7.47
1990	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	15th (h)	60m	7.44
			7th (sf)	60m hurdles	8.08
	Balkan Games	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	100m
			1st	100m hurdles
	European Championships	Split, Yugoslavia	13th (sf)	100m	11.62
			11th (sf)	100m hurdles	13.07
1991	Mediterranean Games	Athens, Greece	1st	100m	11.48
			2nd	100m hurdles	12.96
			3rd	4 × 100 m relay	44.77
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	14th (sf)	100m	11.51
			21st (h)	100m hurdles	13.41
1992	European Indoor Championships	Genoa, Italy	17th (h)	60m hurdles	8.33
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	1st	100m hurdles	12.64 (NR)
1994	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	17th (q)	Long jump	5.98 m
	Balkan Games	Trikala, Greece	1st	Long jump
1995	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Spain	10th	Long jump	6.44 m
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	–	Long jump	NM
1996	European Indoor Championships	Stockholm, Sweden	11th	Long jump	6.15 m
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	10th	Long jump	6.37 m
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	–	Long jump	NM
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	36th (q)	Long jump	5.90 m
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	13th (h)	4 × 100m relay	44.68
2000	European Indoor Championships	Ghent, Belgium	20th (h)	60m	7.39
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	46th (h)	100m	11.65
			13th (sf)	4 × 100m relay	43.53
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	17th (sf)	60m	7.34
2002	European Indoor Championships	Vienna, Austria	18th (h)	60m	7.48

References

• Voula Patoulidou at World Athletics

External links

• Voula Patoulidou at Olympedia
• Voula Patoulidou at Olympics.com
• Voula Patoulidou at the Hellenic Olympic Committee