The 2012 Summer Olympics in London haven't even begun, but they're already over for one Greek athlete. Paraskevi Papachristou, a 23-year-old triple jumper for Greece, was removed from her country's Olympic team on Wednesday after making a racist joke on Twitter.
The tweet was posted to Papachristou's account (@papaxristouj) on Sunday, and has been translated as "With so many Africans in Greece... At least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food."
Papachristou supports the controversial Golden Dawn party in Greece, which has made news with its anti-immigrant stance. She made a lengthy apology on her Twitter account through the Twitlonger program, referring to her joke as "unfortunate and tasteless" and declaring herself "very sorry and ashamed for the negative response I triggered," but it wasn't enough to keep her on the team. The Greek Olympic Committee said in a Wednesday statement that Papachristou has been "placed outside the Olympic team for statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement."
Papachristou was not favored as a medal contender in London, as she finished 16th at last year's World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and 11th earlier this year at the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. However, she has performed at an elite level in junior and under-23 competitions, and could certainly contend for a medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
She'll just have to keep her offensive comments to herself.
