As the progenitor nation of the Olympic games and in keeping with tradition, Greece entered first during the opening ceremony, led by taekwondo jin Alexandros Nikolaidis, two-time Olympic silver medalist in men's super heavyweight division.
Several athletes missed out of the medal standings in the finals, including swimmer Spyridon Gianniotis (fourth in the open water marathon), the Men's coxle four team (finished in the fourth place), Vassiliki Vougiouka (missed out the semi-finals in fencing), sailor Byron Kokkalanis, (sixth in men's windsurfing) and gymnast Vasileios Tsolakidis (sixth in men's parallel bars).
Greek athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):[1][2]
Key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Greek swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[4][5]
Alexandros Nikolaidis had ensured a quota place for Greece in the men's +80 kg by reaching the top 3 of the 2011 WTF World Qualification Tournament.[7]