Voula Patoulidou, the Gold Olympic Medalist
In August 1992, all of Greece celebrated (and talked about) the enormous success of Voula Patoulidou, who won the Olympic gold medal in the 100m hurdles, in Barcelona - and, according to many, marked the beginning of the "spring" of Greek athletics. When she had shouted the now historic phrase "For Greece, damn it!". It was a long journey, based on hard work and deprivation. It is not necessary to be an athlete nutritionist to conclude that retsina and championships do not go hand in hand... What, then, are Voula Patoulidou's performances from the golden wine?
"Retsina has no class, no age, no educational level. But it has symbolism. It symbolizes the family gathered around the Greek table. The parents, the children, the grandparents who gather to be happy, to celebrate, to welcome the stranger, but also to say goodbye to the one who is leaving. I accept its Greek character completely. It is the 'perfume of Greece'".
CARELESS PHOTOS.
When in the semi-final of the 100 meters hurdles at the Barcelona Olympic Games, in 1992, Voula Patoulidou finished third in her row (with 12.88, setting a personal record), everyone was celebrating the huge success of Greek sports. It was no small thing for a woman to go to an Olympic final for the first time in history – and in one of the most prominent sports. But she saved her best for the final: with 12.64, she not only broke the Pan-Hellenic record, but also took first place, breaking the eighty-year "drought" of Olympic medals in athletics, which it had been held since 1912.
"As an athlete, my relationship with alcohol was non-existent," notes Voula Patoulidou. "I was not and am not a friend. However, there is no student who has passed through Thessaloniki without sitting in a koutouki. In my memories I have kept 'photos of carelessness', accompanied by a low glass of retsina and the music of Tsitsanis, Vamvakaris, Theodorakis and Hadzidakis. Koutouki and retsina with the 'classics'".
"AROMA OF GREECE".
Today, the former athlete serves as the deputy regional governor of the Metropolitan Unity of Thessaloniki, in the region of Central Macedonia, while at the same time she is the president of the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization. In fact, one of the fields in which it promotes the city is its gastronomy. What is the relationship of retsina with Greece and the Greek?
"Retsina has no class, no age, no educational level. But it has symbolism. It symbolizes the family gathered around the Greek table. The parents, the children, the grandparents who gather to be happy, to celebrate, to welcome the stranger, but also to say goodbye to the one who is leaving. I accept its Greek character completely. It is the 'perfume of Greece'".
Voula Patoulidou, knowing Thessaloniki and its neighborhoods very well, has identified retsina with its... highest and, according to many, most picturesque points: "Upper Town. The Castles. To wander around the narrow streets with the traditional houses and the 'hidden' churches and to rest in the taverns with the checkered tablecloths and straw chairs. To clink the glass, let the retsina pour out and shout 'Guri, guri!'".
Retsina is a wine. And wine needs company. It is no coincidence that Voula Patoulidou inextricably links it with companionship: "Retsina does not love loneliness" she claims. "It wants company. It wants your lover. It wants the friend, the close friend, the colleague. It wants the one who has true, authentic feelings. Retsina is sharing".
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