Sport in Greece - Notable Sportsmen of Greek Origin

Notable Sportsmen of Greek Origin

Greek American

  • Pete Sampras - tennis player, considered one of the best tennis players in history
  • Chris Chelios - NHL hockey all time great player
  • Peter Angelos - MLB owner of the Baltimore Orioles
  • Anton Christoforidis - professional boxer, NBA World Light Heavyweight Champion 1941
  • Chris Karamesines - racecar driver
  • David Batista (Bautista) - WWE SmackDown!, professional wrestler (Greek mother)
  • Kosta Koufos - player for the Utah Jazz in the NBA and the Greece national team
  • Dean Karnazes - ultramarathon champion, writer, businessman
  • Alex Karras - NFL player with the Detroit Lions, wrestler and actor
  • Lou Karras - NFL player with the Washington Redskins, older brother of Alex Karras
  • Ted Karras - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, older brother of Alex Karras
  • Alexi Lalas - soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, U.S. national team
  • George Kottaras - currently starting catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
  • Laird Hamilton (born Laird John Zerfas) - surfer
  • Matt Stover - NFL player, kicker for Baltimore Ravens
  • Jim Londos - champion wrestler during the 1930s
  • Greg Louganis - Olympic diving champion
  • Harry "the Golden Greek" Agganis1 - college football star and professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox
  • Nick Markakis - MLB outfielder who currently plays for the Baltimore Orioles
  • Tino Martinez - former MLB first baseman for the N.Y. Yankees (Greek mother)
  • Milt Pappas - MLB pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds and other teams
  • Tom Pappas - Track & field decathlete, 2003 world decathlon champion and 2-time Olympian.
  • George Parros - NHL hockey player
  • Kurt Rambis - former NBA player, won 4 championships with the L.A. Lakers (birth name Kyriakos Rambidis)
  • Alex Spanos - NFL owner of the San Diego Chargers
  • Trish Stratus - WWE diva
  • George Theodore - MLB outfielder for the New York Mets
  • Craig Titus - American bodybuilder
  • Lou Tsioropoulos - former NBA player with the Boston Celtics
  • Garo Yepremian - NFL player (Greek Cypriot origin)

Greek Australian

  • Braith Anasta – Rugby league
  • Anthony Koutoufides- a former Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.
  • Ang Christou – Australian rules football player
  • Angelo Lekkas – Australian rules football player
  • Lou Richards – Australian rules football player
  • David Zaharakis – Australian rules football player
  • Michael Katsidis – Professional Boxer, former WBA, WBO, lightweight champion
  • Stan Longinidis- a retired Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8 time Kickboxing World Champion. Born in Australia of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to have won World titles in three different styles, International Rules Kickboxing, Full Contact and Muay Thai.
  • Tosca Petridis - a former 7 world Kickboxing champion
  • George Sotiropoulos – mixed martial artist
  • Glen Lazarus – player Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm
  • George Peponis – former Australian captain
  • Willie Peters – player, South Sydney Rabbitohs
  • Michael Diamond – shooter – Olympic gold medallist, Sydney 2000
  • Lydia Lassila (née Lerodiaconou) – skier – Winter Olympian (gold medalist)
  • Mark Philippoussis – tennis player
  • Andres Labrakis aka Spiros Arion – wrestler

Greek Diaspora

  • Joseph Pilates
  • Nicolas Macrozonaris
  • Dave Nonis
  • Dominic Filiou
  • George Athans
  • Bret Hart
  • Stanley Christodoulou
  • Nic Pothas
  • Eder Jofre
  • Emanuel Moriatis
  • Oscar Panno
  • Kyriakos Ioannou

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