Martha Matsa
Greek swimmer
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Martha Matsa (Greek: Μάρθα Μάτσα; born April 5, 1987) is a Greek swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events.[1] She is a two-time Olympian (2004 and 2008), and a member of the swimming team for HAN Thessaloniki.
| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Martha Matsa |
| National team |  Greece |
| Born | 5 April 1987 Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Club | HAN Thessaloniki |
When her nation Greece hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Matsa made her Olympic debut as a 17-year-old, competing in two swimming events. She posted a FINA B-standard of 25.61 (50 m freestyle) from an Olympic test event at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre.[2] On the first day of the Games, Matsa teamed up with Nery Mantey Niangkouara, Eleni Kosti, and Zoi Dimoschaki in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. She held liable for an early relay takeoff, when the Greeks had been disqualified from the heats.[3][4] Nearly a week later, in the 50 m freestyle, Matsa placed thirty-third on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat seven, she edged out Trinidad and Tobago's Sharntelle McLean to pick up a seventh spot by four-tenths of a second (0.40) in 26.46.[5][6]
Matsa swam only in the 50 m freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She achieved a FINA B-standard of 25.67 from the Greece National Open Championships in Tripoli.[7] She challenged seven other swimmers in heat nine, including Slovakia's top favorite and five-time Olympian Martina Moravcová. She raced again to seventh place in 25.68, just a slimmest margin off her entry time, and 0.03 of a second behind Ukraine's Oksana Serikova. Matsa failed to advance into the semifinals, as she matched her overall position from Athens in the prelims.[8]
Matsa was also selected as a reserve for the Greek squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but did not compete in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Her Greek teammates Niangkouara, Theodora Drakou, Theodora Giareni, and teen sensation Kristel Vourna failed to reach the top 8 final, finishing only in sixteenth place with a time of 3:45.55.[9]
