Greece denies athlete permission to compete under Portuguese flag

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - The Greek Olympic Committee (HOC) has refused to allow sailing champion Vasileia Karachaliou to compete under the Portuguese flag, the group said Wednesday.

“The (HOC) does not approve the participation of the athlete Vasileia Karachaliou – or any other Greek athlete for that matter – to compete at the Paris Olympics under the flag of another nation,” Committee said in a statement.

Karachaliou is a former European champion who took part in the Tokyo Games in the Laser Radial Class discipline for Greece but has complained for years about the lack of support and funding from the country’s sailing federation that does not allow her the adequately compete internationally.

The 26-year-old, who, prior to the Tokyo Games, created a crow-funding page to cover expenses for the Olympics, registered and competed under the Portuguese flag at the world championship in the US state of Texas from Oct. 9 - 16. She finished 83rd out of 85 racers.

The HOC said any differences between the athlete and corresponding bodies should be resolved through discussion and not a change in nationality.

According to Greek federation rules, athletes can change their nationalities three years after their last representative country. For the change to go forward, it has to be approved by the federation and the national Olympic committee.​​​​​​​