Greek judo champion Eleni Ioannou will be buried Thursday in the outfit she would have worn to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Ioannou, 20, was scheduled to compete for Greece in the Olympics until she fell from the fourth-floor balcony of her apartment in the Athens suburb of Nea Ionia during a quarrel with her boyfriend Aug. 7.
She died early Tuesday at the Erythros Stavros Hospital of “multiple infections,” according to Olympic officials. Her coach, Giorgos Bountakis, said Ioannou never regained consciousness.
Although her coach and teammates said they deeply doubted Ioannou would try to kill herself, a Greek Ministry of Public Order spokeswoman said Tuesday the case had been ruled a suicide.
Ioannou’s boyfriend of two years jumped off the same balcony two days after she fell. The boyfriend, Giorgos Chrysostomides, 24, remains hospitalized, but his condition has improved from critical to stable, the spokeswoman said.
Authorities said they believe the couple quarreled because Chrysostomides did not want Ioannou to stay in the Olympic Village during the Games. The couple lived with Chrysostomides’ grandparents a few miles from the Olympic judo hall.
Bountakis, coach at the Nea Philadelphia Judo Club, said the judoka’s parents asked that she be buried in the outfit worn by Greek Olympians at the Opening Ceremony.
“She had earned the right to march in the Opening Ceremony but was never able to do it,” he said. “It’s a shame to lose a girl like Eleni in such a way.”
Ioannou took up judo at the Nea Philadelphia club less than five years ago. She won the last two Greek heavyweight titles.
Bountakis said he would create a memorial dedicated to her at the club. The display will include her outfit, her trophies and photos.
“It will be for our older members to remember her and for our future members to learn about her,” he said.
Besides her parents, Ioannou is survived by her two sisters, 6 and 4, her coach said.