Nikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis (Greek: Νικόλαος Κακλαμανάκης, born 19 August 1968, in Athens) is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was named one of the 1996 Greek Male Athletes of the Year.

Nikos Kaklamanakis
Personal information
Full nameNikolaos Kaklamanakis
Born19 August 1968 (1968-08-19) (age 56)
Athens, Greece
Medal record
Men's sailing / windsurfing
Representing  Greece
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Mistral
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Mistral
Windsurfing World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Haifa Mistral
Gold medal – first place 2000 Mar del Plata Mistral
Gold medal – first place 2001 Varkiza Mistral
Silver medal – second place 1995 Port Elizabeth Mistral
Silver medal – second place 2003 Cádiz Mistral
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Mistral

Kaklamanakis participated in five consecutive Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, reaching the medal race in all five of them.[1] He won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, while he was ninth in Barcelona (1992), sixth in Sydney (2000) and eighth in Beijing (2008).

Biography

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One of the most popular athletes in Greece, Nikolaos Kaklamanakis is a three-time Mistral class windsurfing world champion and a gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Sailing. He won silver in the event at the 2003 World Championships in Cádiz, Spain, behind Przemek Miarczynski of Poland. In the 2000 Summer Olympics he took the 6th place, while in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Kaklamanakis took the silver medal behind Gal Fridman of Israel. Four years later, in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games he finished 8th in the RS:X Men Sailing Race.

Kaklamanakis faced legal action from the Hellenic Sailing Federation in 2019 for alleged defamation. The lawsuit stemmed from statements Kaklamanis made during a speech in the Hellenic Parliament, criticizing certain practices within the federation. In 2022, the court acquitted Kaklamanis, ruling that there was no intent to defame.[2]

Selected achievements

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Medal Event Year
Gold European Championship (Mistral) 1994
Silver IMCO World Championship 1995
Gold Australasian Championship (Mistral) 1995
Gold IMCO World Championship 1996
Gold Atlanta Olympics 1996
Gold Athens EUROLYMP 1998
Gold Mistral World Championship 2000
Bronze International ASA Windsurfing Championship 2001
Gold Mistral World Championship 2001
Silver ISAF World Championship 2003
Silver Athens Olympics 2004

References

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  1. ^ "Ο Νίκος Κακλαμανάκης καταγγέλλει: «Τέσσερις από τις έξι συμμετοχές μου στους Ολυμπιακούς διώκονται". 13 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Δικαίωση Νίκου Κακλαμανάκη με δικαστική απόφαση". kathimerini. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
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Olympic Games
Preceded by Final Olympic torchbearer
Athens 2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Final Summer Olympic torchbearer
Athens 2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Greece
Sydney 2000
Succeeded by