Claim: Marios Evangelou, a retired Greek pole vaulter born on May 8, 1981 in Thessaloniki (the second-largest city in Greece), was selected to compete for the host nation Greece's largest Olympic team in the men's pole vault at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Evidence: He was selected to compete for the host nation Greece's largest Olympic team in the men's pole vault at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and also trained as a member of the athletics squad for the sport club Panathinaikos. Marios Evangelou (Greek: Μάριος Ευαγγέλου; born May 8, 1981 in Thessaloniki) is a retired Greek pole vaulter. Thessaloniki (/ˌθɛsələˈniːki/; Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη, [θesaloˈnici (listen)), also known as Thessalonica (English: /ˌθɛsələˈnaɪkə, ˌθɛsəˈlɒnɪkə/), Saloniki or Salonica (/səˈlɒnɪkə, ˌsæləˈniːkə/), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over 1 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace.