Pyrros Dimas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pyrros Dimas

Personal information
Nationality	Greek
Born	(1971-10-13) 13 October 1971 (age 53) Himarë, Albania
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	83.15 kg (183.3 lb)
Sport
Country	Albania (1982–1992) Greece (1992–2004)
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	85 kg
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Snatch: 180.5 kg (1999) Clean and jerk: 215 kg (2000) Total: 392.5 kg (1996)
Medal record Men's weightlifting Representing  Greece Olympic Games Gold 1992 Barcelona -82.5 kg Gold 1996 Atlanta -83 kg Gold 2000 Sydney -85 kg Bronze 2004 Athens -85 kg World Championships Gold 1993 Melbourne -83 kg Gold 1995 Guangzhou -83 kg Gold 1998 Lahti -85 kg Silver 1999 Athens -85 kg European Championships Gold 1995 Warszawa -83 kg Silver 1998 Riesa -85 kg Bronze 1992 Szekszard -82.5 kg Bronze 1993 Sofia -83 kg Mediterranean Games Gold 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon -91 kg

Pyrros Dimas (born 13 October 1971) is a famous Greek politician and former weightlifter. He is currently the technical director for USA Weightlifting. He started this job in June 2017.

Dimas was also a politician. He was a member of the Greek Parliament, which is like the country's main law-making body. He served from 2012 to 2015.

Many people think Dimas is one of the greatest weightlifters ever. He has won three Olympic gold medals. In his fourth Olympics, even with a knee injury, he won a bronze medal. He also won the World Championship three times. He was named the best Greek male athlete in 1992, 1993, 1995, and 1996.

Early Life and Training

Pyrros Dimas was born in 1971 in Himarë, a town in southern Albania. His parents were Greek. He started weightlifting when he was 11 years old. By age 14, he was competing in junior events.

When he was 18, in 1989, he became the triple champion of Albania. He won in the 82.5 kg weight class. He won again in 1990. While in Albania, his coach was Zef Kovaci. The Albanian government gave him the title "Master of Sports." The European Weightlifting Federation also called him a "European Master."

Competing for Albania

Dimas was an important part of the Albanian weightlifting team. In 1989, he finished 12th in the World Championship. This helped Albania rank 13th in the world.

In May 1990, at the European Weightlifting Championship in Aalborg, Denmark, Dimas placed 4th. Albania's team came in 3rd place overall. In December 1990, at the European Cup for nations in Turkey, Dimas, Leonidas Sabanis, and Fatmir Bushi helped Albania finish 2nd in Europe.

Competing for Greece

While in Aalborg, Dimas met people from the Greek national team. He wanted to join them, but it was hard to leave Albania at that time. Dimas finally crossed the border into Greece on February 7, 1991. He then moved to Athens.

He became a Greek citizen in 1992. His first competition for Greece was the 1992 Summer Olympics. He won a gold medal in the 82.5 kg class. During his final lift, he famously shouted "Για την Ελλάδα!" which means "For Greece!" This phrase became very well known in Greece.

At that time, Greece did not win many Olympic medals. So, Pyrros Dimas and Voula Patoulidou (who won gold in hurdles) became national heroes. Thousands of people welcomed them back to Greece. Dimas was nicknamed "The Lion of Himara" because of his birthplace. People also called him "Midas" because he won so many gold medals.

Dimas was very confident. He often held the weights up after the buzzer. This allowed the crowd to take pictures.

Olympic Gold Medals

With two World titles already, Dimas was a favorite for the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was the flag bearer for the Greek Olympic team. He won the gold medal in the 83 kg class. He also set two new World Records.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won another gold medal. This time it was in the 85 kg class. This made him one of only three weightlifters to win three Olympic gold medals. The others were Naim Süleymanoğlu and Kakhi Kakhiashvili.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Dimas carried the Greek flag. He did this for both the opening and closing ceremonies. He was recovering from knee surgery and a wrist injury. Many people did not expect him to compete. But he still won a bronze medal in the 85 kg class.

This made him the fourth weightlifter to win a medal at four different Olympic Games. He was also the only one to win three golds among his four medals. This made him a national hero in Greece and a weightlifting legend worldwide.

After winning the bronze medal, he showed he was retiring. He left his shoes on the platform. The crowd gave him a huge standing ovation.

In 2008, Dimas became the vice-president of the Hellenic Weightlifting Federation. Later that year, he became its president.

Political Activities

In 2012, Dimas became involved in politics. He was elected to the Greek Parliament. He represented a political party called PASOK.

He spoke out about Greece's policies regarding Northern Epirus, which is where he was born. He felt the Greek government had "forgotten" this area. Dimas has worked to support the rights of ethnic Greeks in Albania. He has highlighted issues like land being taken from the Greek community in Himara. He has asked the Greek government to help.

In 2014, Dimas took part in a ceremony. It marked 100 years since the Republic of Northern Epirus declared its independence. Dimas continues to speak against what he sees as unfair policies by the Albanian government. These policies affect the Greek community in Himara and other Greek people in Northern Epirus.

In 2016, he said that because of him, the Greek parliament started talking about Northern Epirus. In 2018, Dimas protested against the taking of properties belonging to the Greek community in Himara. He asked the Albanian government to stop such actions.

In May 2023, Dimas protested the arrest of Fredis Beleris. Beleris is a representative of the Greek minority. He was arrested by Albanian authorities for alleged vote buying. He had been elected mayor of Himara.

Dimas ran for the European Parliament in 2024. He was a candidate for the New Democracy party but was not elected.

Personal Life

Pyrros Dimas was married to Anastasia Sdougkou. She was a sports reporter. They had four children together. Sadly, his wife passed away from brain cancer on June 14, 2018.

Career Best Lifts

• Snatch: 180.5 kg (in 1999 in Athens, in the 85 kg class).
• Clean and Jerk: 215.0 kg (at the 2000 Summer Olympics, in the 85 kg class).
• Total: 392.5 kg (at the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 83 kg class).

Major Competition 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	167.5	1	202.5	207.5	207.5	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	175.0	175.0	4	210.0	215.0	218.5	1	390.0
2004	Athens, Greece	85 kg	170.0	175	175.0	3	202.5	205.0	207.5	4	377.5
World Championships
1993	Melbourne	83 kg	170.0	175.0	177.5		202.5	202.5	205.0	4	377.5
1994	Istanbul, Turkey	83 kg	167.5	172.5	178.5		200.0	200.0	200.0	--	--	--
1995	Guangzhou, China	83 kg	170.0	172.5	175.0		207.5	212.5	212.5		385.0
1998	Lahti, Finland	85 kg	172.5	178.0	178.0 WR		207.5	210.0	212.5		387.5
1999	Athens, Greece	85 kg	175.0	180.5 WR	182.5		207.5	212.5	212.5		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	167.5	172.5		200.0	205.0	210.0		377.5
2000	Sofia, Bulgaria	85 kg	167.5	170.0	170.0	4	200.0	205.0	205.0	7	370.0	4
2004	Kyiv, Ukraine	85 kg	165.0	170.0	170.0	6	200.0	200.0	205.0	5	375.0	5

Images for kids

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  Pyrros Dimas

See also

• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists