Vasilios Papageorgopoulos

Vasilios Papageorgopoulos was the top Greek sprinter of the 1970s. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in the 100 metres, but with little success. Papageorgopoulos was the 1971 Mediterranean Games champion in the 100, and won a silver medal in that event in 1975. He was bronze medalist in the 100 at the 1971 European Championships and the 1972 and 1976 European Indoors.

Papageorgopoulos later practiced dentistry but also became involved in politics. In 1981 he became a member of the Greek Parliament, representing Thessaloniki. In 1999 he became mayor of Thessaloniki, a post he held until 2010. In 2011, he was accused of stealing funds from the municipal treasury. He was found guilty in February and sentenced to life imprisonment. An appeals court later shortened the sentence to 20 years, finding that his crime consisted of “accessory to the stealing of municipal funds while in office.” Because of poor health Papageoropoulos was paroled in July 2015.

Personal Best: 100 – 10.22 (1972).