Spyros Capralos has been re-elected President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee for a third four-year term. Capralos was the only candidate for the presidency and received 22 out of 22 votes.

The HOC Plenary Session has also elected the following:

1^st Vice President: Stelios Aggeloudis

2^nd Vice President: Xenophon Athanasiou

Secretary General: Manolis Kolympadis

Treasurer: Antonis Nikolopoulos

Executive Board: Aristidis Adamopoulos, Polyxeni Argeitaki, Yiannis Karras

President of the International Olympic Academy: Isidoros Kouvelos

President of the Ethics Commission: Manolis Katsiadakis

President of the Olympic Preparation Commission: Spyros Zannias

President of the Olympic Torch Relay Commission: Athanasios Vassiliadis

Elections held last February had declared Capralos president of the NOC, but soon after, due to the absence of his sole opponent Isidoros Kouvelos, the Greek Supreme Administrative Court had ruled the result void.

Addressing the members of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the President said:

“Thank you very much for your trust and confidence in me and for electing me as President for another four-year term. However, it is now time for serious reflection and self-criticism rather than celebrations. What happened in the past few months has tarnished the image of the HOC, both in Greece and abroad. Most importantly, our athletes who represent our country in elite international sport competitions have been left without support.

“The International Olympic Committee has still no representative in our country, the athletes’ support programme “Adopt an athlete on the way to Tokyo” is moving at a slow pace, while the national sport federations are currently facing a variety of problems and challenges. What happened in 2017 should serve as a lesson in order for similar situations to be avoided in the future, and above all, in order to avoid the same mistakes that have an impact on those who are not responsible for them.    

Capralos also added: “The spirit of consensus reflected in today’s elections has to carry on in the days and months to follow in order for the wounds to be healed. I would like to invite you all to work hard, united and determined to make up for the lost time”.

The Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame for the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games 2018 will take place on Tuesday 24 in Ancient Olympia.

The Torch Relay on Greek territory will follow right after and the Handover Ceremony of the Flame to the Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympic Games of PyeongChang, Korea, will be held at the Panathenaic Stadium a week later.

“It is a first-class opportunity to remind the whole world what our country has offered to the Olympic movement” Capralos, the 23nd President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee since its establishment in 1894, concluded.