Greek shooter Anna Korakaki marked 10 years since winning Olympic gold in the 25m pistol event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on August 9, 2016, with a personal post about the legacy she wants to leave for her daughter.
In her first Olympic Games appearance, Korakaki left Brazil with two medals. She had already won bronze in the 10m air pistol final on August 7, before taking gold in the 25m pistol event two days later.
Reflecting on a decade since Rio
Ten years after her success in Brazil, Korakaki published a post about what she experienced at the Olympics and about the legacy she now wants to pass on, first as a person and then as an athlete, to her daughter. She accompanied the post with photographs from her triumph at Rio 2016 alongside images of herself swimming in the sea with her young daughter.
In the post, Korakaki said August 9 marked 10 years since the moments that changed her life forever, two Olympic medals, countless emotions, and a story written through hard work, unshakeable faith and deep love for what she does. She said that even so, life had something even bigger in store for her.
A new perspective on motherhood
Korakaki said that 10 years on, her hands now hold her most precious "medal", her daughter. She said she now understands that the records and the honors were never what mattered most.
She said that looking back today, she feels proud of the 20-year-old who dared to dream, but that she feels even prouder of the woman she has become. She added that her daughter is now her motivation and her strength to keep going, not only for new achievements but above all to show her what effort and persistence mean, to never give up, to get back up every time she falls, and to fight not for victory and glory but for dreams and for the values that make a person who they are first and foremost.
A wish for her daughter
Korakaki said that if there is one thing she wishes for today, it is that her daughter be proud of her not as an athlete but as a person. She said she wants to inspire her daughter through her own example, through her values, through who she is every day.
She said that if one day her daughter looks at her and feels proud of her mother, that would be her greatest achievement of all.
