He won back-to-back steeplechase titles at the Mediterranean Games in 1955 and 1959.[3] He also won the steeplechase event in the Balkan Athletics Championships seven times in a row from 1955 to 1961. In the Panhellenic Championships, Papavasileiou won the steeplechase event eleven times, also winning seven times in the 5,000 metres race, and six times in cross-country races.