Greece at the Olympics

The Olympic Flame arrived with a procession of 15 cars from the Hellenic Olympic Committee, coming from the Peloponnese

Before she could join sailing classes near her home in Athens, Sofia Bekatorou had to show an instructor she could tie a basic knot properly. Passing the test at age 8 changed her life.

A Greek sailing coach accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old athlete nine years ago was remanded in custody Thursday after appearing before a prosecutor and investigative magistrate in Athens. 

The 38-year-old coach reportedly claimed in his four-hour deposition that he indeed had a relationship with the girl, now 20, but that it was consensual. 

Olympic Gold medalist Sofia Bekatorou was invited by a prosecutor in Athens to give her deposition on Wednesday morning after she revealed that she had been raped by a senior member of Greece's sailing federation when she was preparing for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Greek President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou has invited retired Olympic sailing star Sofia Bekatorou at the Presidential Mansion on Monday, the Presidency announced on Sunday.

The invitation comes after Bekatorou, now 43, revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by a senior member of the country's sailing federation ahead of the 2000 Sydney Olympics when she was aged 21.

Two members of the board of Greece's sailing frederation have resigned since athlete Sofia Bekatorou, an Olympic Gold medalist, revealed she had been sexually assaulted by a board member in 1998.

Posts full of "bravos" and "respect" flooded the internet. As a four-time Olympian, winner of a gold medal in Athens in 2004 and a bronze in Beijing four years later, Sofia Bekatorou is used to praise. This time, however, the praise was not about her sailing prowess.

Greece's sports ministry urged judicial and sports authorities on Saturday to look into Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou's statements that she had been sexually assaulted by a sports official in 1998.

Bekatorou, a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, referred to the incident during an online conference organised by the ministry this week, without naming the official.

Greece's sports ministry urged judicial and sports authorities on Saturday to look into Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou's statements that she had been sexually assaulted by a sports official in 1998.

Bekatorou, a gold medallist at the 2004 Olympics, referred to the incident during an online conference organised by the ministry this week, without naming the official.

Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou of Greece has accused an unnamed sporting official of sexually assaulting her in 1998 during preparations for the Sydney Games.

Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said the male official from the Hellenic Sailing Federation performed a "lewd act" after inviting her to his hotel room to discuss team preparations.