Vassiliki Vougiouka (; born 20 June 1986, in Cholargos, Athens, Greece), often known as Vaso Vougiouka (Βάσω Βουγιούκα), is a Greek female

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

fencer, silver medallist in the 2012 and 2013 European Championships. She participated at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, in which she was eliminated in the quarter finals, as well as at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro.

Career

Vougiouka took up fencing at the relative late age of 14. She first competed in foil and switched to sabre in 2005. She climbed her first podium in the

Fencing World Cup The Fencing World Cup is an international fencing competition held by the International Fencing Federation. In each weapon (Men's and Women's Épée, Sabre and Foil), three Grand Prix, five World Cup events and several satellite events are conte ...

with a gold medal in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 2010, the first victory at a World Cup event in the history of the Greek fencing. She made her breakthrough in the 2011–12 season, earning a gold medal in the London World Cup and a bronze medal in the Tianjin Grand Prix. At the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

in Legnano, she lost to Ukraine's Olha Kharlan in the final and took a silver medal. She competed in the individual event at the

. She broke two of her front teeth during her T16 bout when her mask collided with that of Poland's Aleksandra Socha. Twenty minutes later she fenced Korea's Kim Ji-yeon in the quarter-final. The pain from her injury forced her to keep her mouth shut, which impeded her breathing. After taking an 8–3 lead she was eventually defeated 12–15 and finished 5th. She finished the season No.5 in world rankings. For her Olympic performance, she was named best athlete of the year by the Greek press. In the 2012–13 season she took a bronze medal in the Antalya World Cup and the Moscow Grand Prix. She claimed her second continental silver medal in a row at the

in Zagreb, losing again to Olha Kharlan in the final. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in Budapest Vougiouka was stopped in the quarter-finals to Italy's Irene Vecchi. In the 2013–14 season she won a bronze medal in the Bolzano World Cup and a silver medal in the Moscow Grand Prix. At the

in Strasbourg, she was defeated in the semi-finals by Russia's Yekaterina Dyachenko and came away with a bronze medal. At the

in Kazan, she was edged out 13–15 by Russia's Yana Egorian in the quarter-finals. Vougiouka finished world No.4, her best ranking to date. She was named the Greek Female Athlete of the Year for 2012.

Personal life

Vougiouka studied dentistry at the

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. Her cousin is the basketball player Ian Vougioukas.Η Βάσω Βουγιούκα είναι η ελπίδα μας για μετάλλιο στους Ολυμπιακούς του Ρίο .
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References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vougiouka, Vassiliki 1986 births Living people Greek female sabre fencers Olympic fencers for Greece Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2013 Mediterranean Games European Games competitors for Greece Fencers at the 2015 European Games Fencers from Athens 21st-century Greek sportswomen