The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (ICMG). A total of 3,368 athletes from 23 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. Montenegro participated for the first time at the Mediterranean Games, after their independence in 2006. The program included competitions in 24 different sports, including three non-Olympic sports – bocce, karate, and water skiing – and golf, which was reinstated as an official Olympic sport in 2016 Summer Olympics. Water skiing was introduced as a demonstration sport. Two disabled sports, athletics and swimming, were also contested in the Games. Italy became the first nation to host the Mediterranean Games three times, having previously hosted them in Naples (1963) and Bari (1997).

Nikoleta 'Nikol' Kyriakopoulou is a Greek pole vaulter. Nikoleta was 8th at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. She also won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Beijing in 2015 jumping 4.80m. During the 2015 season, she set five Greek records raising the bar to 4,83 meters. The same year, she became the first Greek athlete to win the IAAF Diamond League.