Pyrros Dimas
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Nationality | Greek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Himarë, Albania | 13 October 1971|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 83.15 kg (183.3 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Greece | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 85 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal bests |
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Medal record
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Pyrros Dimas (
Dimas is the most decorated Greek athlete in the Olympics and is widely considered one of the greatest weightlifters of all time, having been
Early years
Dimas was born in 1971 in
While in Albania, he was coached by Zef Kovaci. In 1990 he was also accorded the title "Master of Sports" by the Albanian government and the title "European Master" by the European Weightlifting Federation.[7]
Results representing Albania
He was part of the Albanian weightlifting team to which he made important contributions: In 1989 in the 62nd World Championship of Weightlifting Dimas ranked 12th in the World and helped Albania rank 13th in the world.[7]
In the 69th European Weightlifting Championship (held in Aalborg, Denmark May 1990), Dimas ranked 4th in Europe and Albania ranked 3rd (after 1st placed USSR and 2nd placed Bulgaria), and in the European Cup for nations (in Antalya, Turkey, December 1990) Dimas, Leonidas Sabanis and Fatmir Bushi helped Albania rank 2nd in Europe (after 1st placed Bulgaria).[7]
Results representing Greece
During his stay in Aalborg he came in contact with representatives of the Greece national team: Giannis Sgouros and Christos Iakovou and he expressed great enthusiasm for a future cooperation. However, the political situation in Albania prohibited him from leaving the country.[8] Dimas managed to cross the Greek-Albanian border at 7 February 1991, after a several hour exhaustive trip. He then stayed in Athens.[8] He acquired Greek citizenship in 1992,[7] and first competed under the Greek flag in the 1992 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the 82.5 kg class.
During his third lift for the clean and jerk event, he shouted "Για την Ελλάδα!" (transliterated "Gia tin Ellada!"; meaning "For Greece!"), thus dedicating his victory to Greece. This is the catchphrase with which he is most associated in Greece.
At a time when Greece's success in the Olympics was limited, he and
Characteristic of his self-confidence was his tendency to keep the weights lifted after the buzzer had sounded so that the crowd could take photographs.
With the 1993 and 1995 World titles under his belt, Dimas was the favorite to win Olympic Gold in the 83 kg class for the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he was the flag bearer of the Greece Olympic team. He won the event with two new World Records.
At the
At the
After earning the bronze medal he signalled his retirement by leaving his shoes on the platform, while the appreciative Greek crowd gave him a standing ovation.[10]
In June 2008, Dimas became vice-president,[11] and in October 2008 president of the Hellenic Weightlifting Federation.[12]
Political activities
In 2012 Dimas entered politics as a member of PASOK.[13] He was soon polemical with Greece's policies with Northern Epirus- his place of origin- claiming that the Greek government has "forgotten" it.[14]
Dimas has campaigned for the rights of
In an interview in 2016 he stated that "we are referring to Pontus, Cyprus, but for the first time Northern Epirus was heard in the Greek parliament when they saw me".[19] At December 2018 Dimas protested against the confiscation of properties that belong to the ethnic Greek community of Himara and called the Albanian government to avoid discrimination of this kind.[20]
On May 15, 2023, Dimas protested against the arrest and imprisonment by the Albanian authorities of the representative of the Greek minority, Fredi Beleri, on charges of vote buying. The latter was elected mayor of Himara.[21][22]
Personal life
Dimas was married to Anastasia Sdougkou, a former Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation sports reporter. Together they had four children. His wife died of brain cancer on 14 June 2018.[23]
Career bests
- Snatch: 180.5 kg 1999 in Athens in the class to 85 kg.
- Clean and jerk: 215.0 kg 2000 Summer Olympics in the class to 85 kg.
- Total: 392.5 kg 1996 Summer Olympics in the class to 83 kg.[24]
Major results
Year | Venue | Weight | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total | Rank | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | Rank | |||||
Olympic Games | ||||||||||||
1992 | Barcelona, Spain | 82.5 kg | 162.5 | 167.5 | 1 | 202.5 | 4 | 370.0 | ||||
1996 | Atlanta, United States | 83 kg | 172.5 | 175.0 | 180.0 WR | 1 | 202.5 | 207.5 | 213.0 WR | 2 | 392.5 WR | |
2000 | Sydney, Australia | 85 kg | 175.0 | 4 | 210.0 | 215.0 | 1 | 390.0 | ||||
2004 | Athens, Greece | 85 kg | 170.0 | 175.0 | 3 | 202.5 | 4 | 377.5 | ||||
World Championships | ||||||||||||
1993 | Melbourne | 83 kg | 170.0 | 175.0 | 202.5 | 4 | 377.5 | |||||
1994 | Istanbul, Turkey | 83 kg | 167.5 | 172.5 | -- | -- | -- | |||||
1995 | Guangzhou, China | 83 kg | 170.0 | 172.5 | 212.5 | 385.0 | ||||||
1998 | Lahti, Finland | 85 kg | 172.5 | 178.0 WR | 210.0 | 387.5 | ||||||
1999 | Athens, Greece | 85 kg | 175.0 | 180.5 WR | 207.5 | 387.5 | ||||||
European Championships | ||||||||||||
1992 | Szekszárd, Hungary | 82.5 kg | 165.0 | 202.5 | 367.5 | |||||||
1993 | Sofia, Bulgaria | 83 kg | 170.0 | 200.0 | 5 | 370.0 | ||||||
1995 | Warsaw, Poland | 83 kg | 177.5 | 210.0 | 387.5 | |||||||
1998 | Riesa, Germany | 85 kg | 167.5 | 172.5 | 200.0 | 205.0 | 377.5 | |||||
2000 | Sofia, Bulgaria | 85 kg | 167.5 | 170.0 | 4 | 200.0 | 7 | 370.0 | 4 | |||
2004 | Kyiv, Ukraine | 85 kg | 165.0 | 170.0 | 6 | 200.0 | 205.0 | 5 | 375.0 | 5 |
See also
References
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pirro Dhima". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ Ford, Bonnie D. (29 November 2017). "Raising the Bar". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ Goodbody, John. "100 greatest Olympic moments: Dimas has the Midas touch". The Times. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
the Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas had a similar burden in Athens. ... partly because he had been born in Albania in northern Epirus,
- ^ Repanas, Antonios. "Pyrros Dimas and the "American Dream" in Greece". Retrieved 19 August 2016.
This three-time Olympic gold medal winner and one-time bronze winner came to Greece from Albania in 1991. "Personally I have never felt like a refugee. I came to my country. I did not go to another country to feel like a refugee or an immigrant. I came here with legal papers and with my entire family. I also had help from Yianni Syorou. However, there were other people from the Northern Epirus who came here illegally from the mountains and who risked their lives.
- ISBN 9780516222714.
Born in northern Epirus in 1 971, Dimas competes in the 159-pound
- ISBN 9780810863125.
Born in Himara in southern Albania to ethnic Greek parents, Pyrros Dimas is a Greek sports hero.
- ^ a b c d e Armillotta, Giovanni (April 2008). "Cili ishte shqiptari Pirro Dhima ne Shqiperi?" [Who was the Albanian Pyrros Dimas in Albania]. Albanian Football Magazine (in Albanian). X (178): 12–13. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ a b Κάβουρας, Χρήστος (7 February 2017). "Όταν ο Πύρρος ήρθε για να... σηκώσει την Ελλάδα!". Onsports.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "Godina out, Washington in discus final". The Denver Post. 30 July 1996.
- ^ "Pyrros DIMAS – The most successful weightlifter". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 10 December 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Board of Directors Milestones". Hellenic Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 20 March 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
- ^ "Pyrros Dimas carries weight of rebuilding his sport". Kathimerini. 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
- ^ Panorama (24 April 2012). "Pirro Pirro Dhima deputet, ne krye te listes PASOK". Panorama. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
- ^ Samarxhiu, Thimi (11 June 2012). "Pirro Dhima: Greqia të mos e harrojë 'Epirin e Veriut'". Balkanweb. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
Kjo zonë për shumë-shumë vite ishte e harruar nga partitë politike greke; This area was forgotten for many many years from the Greek political parties.
- ^ "Οργή Πύρρου Δήμα για την αρπαγή των περιουσιών των ομογενών στη Χιμάρα". AthensVoice (in Greek). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ Panorama (17 February 2014). "Athina feston 100 vjetorin e Pavaresise se Vorio Epirit, i pranishem edhe Pirro Dhima". Panorama. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014.
- ^ "Οργή από τον Πύρρο Δήμα για την αρπαγή των περιουσιών των ομογενών στη Χειμάρρα". ProtoThema (in Greek). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Πύρρος Δήμας: Η αλβανική κυβέρνηση καταπατά τα δικαιώματα των Βορειοηπειρωτών". CNN.gr (in Greek). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ Κατσουνάκη, Μαρία. "Πύρρος Δήμας: To 2012 με προσέγγισαν από τον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ μέσω τρίτου". www.kathimerini.gr.
Αναφερόμαστε στον Πόντο, στην Κύπρο, για πρώτη φορά ακούστηκε η Β. Ηπειρος στην ελληνική βουλή όταν με είδαν
- ^ Group), Radiotileoptiki S. A. (OPEN Digital (1 January 1980). "Επίθεση Πύρρου Δήμα σε Αλβανία για απαλλοτριώσεις στη Χειμάρρα". ΕΘΝΟΣ (in Greek). Retrieved 2 October 2022.
Ενώνω τη φωνή μου με εκείνες των απανταχού Βορειοηπειρωτών, και καλούμε την Κυβέρνηση της Αλβανίας να ανακαλέσει, έστω την ύστατη στιγμή, την εν λόγω υπουργική απόφαση και να αποσύρει το σχετικό Νομοσχέδιο, που στην ουσία απαλλοτριώνουν περιουσίες που αποδεδειγμένα, βάσει χαρτών, ανήκουν σε Βορειοηπειρώτες.
- ^ "Greece protests arrest of mayoral candidate in Albania accused of buying votes". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
The detention of a mayoral candidate belonging to the Greek minority in Albania has raised tensions between the two neighboring countries.
- ^ "Πύρρος Δήμας για νίκη Μπελέρη: "Το φως της αλήθειας νίκησε το σκοτάδι της τρομοκρατίας"". CNN.gr (in Greek). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ Giannakidis, Kostas (14 June 2018). "To συγκινητικό μήνυμα και οι όμορφες λεπτομέρειες για την Αναστασία Σδούγκου, από τον δημοσιογράφο Κώστα Γιαννακίδη". TLIFE (in Greek).
- ^ "Dimas Pyrros (GRE)". Database Weightlifting. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
External links
- Pyrros Dimas on Facebook
- Pyrros Dimas at Lift Up
- Pyrros Dimas at the International Weightlifting Results Project
- Pyrros Dimas at the International Weightlifting Federation
- Pyrros Dimas at Olympics.com
- Pyrros Dimas at Olympic.org (archived)
- Pyrros Dimas at Olympedia
- Pyrros Dimas at the Hellenic Olympic Committee