[2] Throughout her sporting career, Athanasopoulou trained as a member of taekwondo squad for AS Vyronas Athinaikos in her native Athens, under head coach and master Apostolos Iakovakis.

She opened her match with a more convincing victory over Egypt's Shimaa Afifi by a marginal judging decision, before losing the quarterfinal to her Dutch opponent Virginia Lourens with a score of 6–8.

[4] In 2003, Athanasopoulou improved her feat from the Olympics to capture the women's featherweight title over Mexico's Iridia Salazar on the referee's decision at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

[5] When her native Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, Athanasopoulou emerged as one of the crowd favorites among the Greek athletes in the women's featherweight class (57 kg), following her notable triumph from the World Championships a year earlier.

[6] In front of the raucous home crowd inside Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex, Athanasopoulou suffered a shocking defeat to Thailand's Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen upon the referee's decision, after their opening match ended in a 6–6 draw.