Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece won the men’s single sculls to claim the country’s first medal of the Tokyo Games.

Ntouskos posted an Olympic best time to win the gold on Friday, as the final day of Olympic rowing got off to a roaring start at Tokyo’s Sea Forest Waterway.

Ntouskos, who had finished 11th at the 2019 World Championships, upset a stacked field to clinch the men’s event in 6:40.45, taking the lead at the midway point and holding on through the final stretch, as silver medallist Kjetil Borch of Norway and third place finisher Damir Martin of Croatia failed to match his power.

Ntouskos switched from a lightweight quadruple sculls boat to the single in 2019, and he said the extra year of training due to the delay caused by the pandemic helped him prepare.

“I was in better shape this year,” Ntouskos said.

Ntouskos (24) is a native of Ioannina. 

[Reuters, AP]