Andreas Vazaios

Andreas Vazaios (Greek: Ανδρέας Βαζαίος; born 9 May 1994 in Athens) is a former Greek swimmer who competed for North Carolina State University under Head Coach Braden Holloway and participated in the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics. ^[1] An outstanding international competitor, he won 13 medals in the European Long and Short Course Championships from 2016-2023 including four golds in butterfly and medley events. As a collegiate swimmer for North Carolina State University, he placed 8 times in the NCAA Championships between 2017-2019 with four first place finishes in freestyle and butterfly events.^[2]

Andreas Vazaios

Personal information
National team	Greece
Born	(1994-05-09) 9 May 1994 (age 31) Athens, Greece
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	86 kg (190 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, Individual Medley, Freestyle
Club	ANO Argyroupoli OFN Ionias
College team	NC State University (NCSU)
Coach	Braden Holloway (NCSU)
Medal record Men's swimming Representing  Greece Event 1st 2nd 3rd European Championships (LC) 1 0 1 European Championships (SC) 3 3 4 Mediterranean Games 3 4 2 European Junior Championships 1 1 1 World Junior Championships 0 2 0 Total 8 10 8 European Championships (LC) 2016 London 200 m medley 2024 Belgrade 4x100 m freestyle 2024 Belgrade 4x200 m freestyle European Championships (SC) 2019 Glasgow 200 m butterfly 2019 Glasgow 200 m medley 2021 Kazan 200 m medley 2017 Copenhagen 200 m butterfly 2017 Copenhagen 200 m medley 2021 Kazan 100 m medley 2015 Netanya 100 m medley 2019 Glasgow 100 m medley 2023 Otopeni 4×50 m freestyle 2023 Otopeni 100 m medley Mediterranean Games 2018 Tarragona 200 m medley 2022 Oran 200 m medley 2022 Oran 4×200 m freestyle 2013 Mersin 4x100 m medley 2018 Tarragona 4×100 m freestyle 2022 Oran 200 m butterfly 2022 Oran 4×100 m freestyle 2013 Mersin 200 m medley 2018 Tarragona 200 m butterfly European Junior Championships 2012 Antwerp 100 m butterfly 2012 Antwerp 200 m medley 2011 Belgrade 200 m medley World Junior Championships 2011 Lima 200 m butterfly 2011 Lima 200 m medley Representing the NC State Wolfpack Event 1st 2nd 3rd NCAA Championships 4 3 1 Total 4 3 1 By race Event 1st 2nd 3rd 100 y backstroke 0 0 1 200 y butterfly 2 0 0 200 y medley 0 2 0 4×200 y freestyle 2 1 0 Total 4 3 1 NCAA Championships 2017 Indianapolis 4×200 y freestyle 2018 Minneapolis 200 y butterfly 2018 Minneapolis 4×200 y freestyle 2019 Austin 200 y butterfly 2018 Minneapolis 200 y medley 2019 Austin 200 y medley 2019 Austin 4×200 y freestyle 2018 Minneapolis 100 y backstroke

Olympics

Vazaios competed for Greece in each of the Olympics from 2012-2024. He first competed for Greece in the 200 m individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where he was eliminated after the qualifying heats.^[3]

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he participated in the men's 200 m individual medley event. He finished 9th in the heats with a time of 1:59.33. He qualified for the semifinals where he placed 11th overall with a time of 1:59.54 and did not qualify for the final.^[4] He was a member of the men's 4 x 100 meter medley relay team which finished 8th in the second heat and 15th overall with a combined time of 3:36.75 and did not advance to the finals.^[5]

Vazaios competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where he finished 15th overall in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:15.29, 24th overall in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 1:58.84, and 14th overall in the 4x100-meter medley relay with a time of 3:36.28.^[2]

He also represented Greece in the Paris Olympics in 2024 in Heat 2 of the 4x200 freestyle relay with the team of Konstantinos Englezakis, Dimitris Markos, and Konstantinos Stamou, but placed fifth among stiff competition, and did not make the finals, finishing behind the British, Australians, Chinese, and Italian teams.^[6][7][2]

Vazaios set a European record in Glasgow, Great Britain in the 200 m medley on 6 December 2019 of 1:50.85.^[2]

North Carolina State

During his college years, Vazaios attended North Carolina State University where he swam primarily for Coach Braden Holloway, and briefly for Todd DeSorbo in 2017.^[7][8] Vazaios was an All-American thirteen times at North Carolina State, captured Atlantic Coast Conference titles six times and won the 2018 Men’s Swimmer of the Year for the ACC.^[9][2]

In 2019, while at NCSU, Andreas was named a 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the men's division, and had been named an Academic All American in several years.^[9]

Post-college years

In 2020, he received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and worked towards an MA degree at the United Kingdom's Loughborough University in Sports and Exercise Psychology. He swam for a period with Loughborough University's team, while continuing to train for international competition.^[9]

Andreas Vazaios was a member of the London Roar team, competing in Season 2 of the International Swimming League (ISL). The ISL is an annual professional swimming league featuring a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions.^[4]