Despina Zapounidou

{{short description|Greek race walker}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| image=

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| birth_date= {{birth date and age|df=yes|1985|10|5}}

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| country= {{GRE}}

| sport =Athletics

| event= 20 km walk

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| pb= 3 km walk (i): 12:35.16
10 km walk: 42:55.82 NR
20 km walk: 1:31.08

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}}

Despina Zapounidou ({{langx|el|Δέσποινα Ζαπουνίδου}}; born 5 October 1985 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek race walker.[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/za/despina-zapounidou-1.html Sports Reference profile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216005458/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/za/despina-zapounidou-1.html |date=16 December 2012 }} She competed in the 20 kilometres event at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/athlete/zapounidou-despina-1101906/ |title=London 2012 profile |access-date=12 October 2012 |archive-date=30 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030160300/http://www.london2012.com/athlete/zapounidou-despina-1101906/ |url-status=dead }} She holds two Greek records: 1:37:40.59 hours for the 20,000 m track walk and 12:35.16 minutes for the 3000 m indoor walk.

As a junior athlete, she was 12th in the 10,000 m track walk at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics and fifth in the 10 km road walk at the 2004 IAAF World Race Walking Cup. She entered the senior 20 km event at the 2006 and 2008 Race Walking Cup but failed to finish on both occasions. She also failed to finish at the 2005 Universiade and the 2013 European Race Walking Cup.

From 2017 to 2021, Zapounidou served a four-year competition ban for violating anti-doping regualations.{{cite web |url=https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/downloads/pdfs/disciplinary-process/en/Santions-JUL-AUG-2018.pdf |title=LATEST SANCTIONS FOR DOPING AND NON-DOPING VIOLATIONS JULY AND AUGUST 2018 |publisher=Athletics Integrity Unit |year=2018 |access-date=17 July 2024}}