- Stefani Bismpikou
Infobox Gymnast
gymnastname= Stefani Bismpikou
imagesize=
caption= Stefani Bismpikou in 2008
fullname= Stefani Bismpikou
altname=
nickname=
country=GRE
formercountry=
birthdate=birth date and age|1988|6|27
birthplace=Athens ,Greece
hometown=
residence=
height=
discipline= WAG
level= Senior
natlteam=
club= F.S. Proteas
gym=
collegeteam=
headcoach= Xachizisis Kostas
assistcoach= Sioutis Kostas
formercoach=
choreographer=Anastasia Donti
music=
eponymousskills=
retired=
medaltemplates=Stefani Bismpikou (also spelled Bisbikou) (born
June 27 ,1988 ) is a Greek artisticgymnast who competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She is the first Greek female gymnast ever to win a medal at the European Championships, and has also won several medals on the World Cup circuit. Her best apparatus is thebalance beam , where she has an exceptionally high difficulty score.Background
Bismpikou was born in
Athens, Greece . She has an older sister who is a competitivediver , and two younger brothers, who playtennis . Bismpikou began gymnastics in 1992. As a young gymnast, she admiredElena Zamolodchikova ofRussia .Gymnastics career
As a junior, Bismpikou enjoyed a successful career on the European competitive circuit. She made her major senior Gymnastics
debut at the 2003 World Championships inAnaheim ,California , where she qualified to the Olympics with a score of 34.637. In early 2004, she had a strong showing at the European Championships, placing 12th in the all-around final. Bismpikou represented her country in her hometown of Athens at the2004 Summer Olympics . There she advanced to the individual all-around where she finished a respectable 15th with a final score of 36.499, almost two full points higher than her World Championships score the year before. [http://www.intlgymnast.com/Online-Features/News/251.html "Injured Bisbikou Still Hopeful For Beijing"] John Crumlish, "International Gymnast," March 10 2008]Bismpikou continued to compete in 2005, winning her first World Cup medal, a silver on the balance beam, at the French International in 2005. She was 14th in the all-around at European Championships that year, and also was the all-around bronze medalist at the 2005
Mediterranean Games inAlmeria ,Spain . She began 2006 with a strong showing at the Maribor World Cup inSlovenia , where she was the gold medalist on beam and won two bronze medals onfloor exercise and theuneven bars . At the 2006 Europeans in Greece, she was a favourite to win a medal, but fell from the balance beam, handing the title to reigning Olympic ChampionCatalina Ponor .In 2007, Bismpikou became the first senior Greek gymnast to win a medal at the European Championships when she placed third on the balance beam. This accomplishment won Bismpikou great praise in Greece and she was voted second place in the 2007 Female Greek Athlete of the year awards.http://www.intlgymnast.com/news/2008/jan/011408_bisbikou.html] Speaking in early 2008, Bismpikou said that she was touched by the award and was pleased her gymnastics efforts were being acknowledged by her fellow Greeks .
At the 2007 World Championships, Bismpikou qualified to represent Greece at the 2008 Olympics. At the Olympics, she participated in the qualifying round of competition, placing 39th overall. [ [http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/resultsandschedules/rsc=GAW499000/standings_allaround.html Preliminary competition standings] NBC Olympics, August 2008]
Bismpikou has has stated that she still loves gymnastics and hopes to continue after the Olympics [http://www.gymbox.net/stephanie_bisbikou.htm Biography at Gymbox] ] . She has also indicated that she plans to pursue university studies to become a
nutritionist References
External links
*fig|id=5630|name=Stefani Bismpikou
* http://www.gymbox.net/stephanie_bisbikou.htm
* http://www.designedbytim.com/gymnstands/code/bisbikou.htm
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