Pyrros Dimas
Gold medal, July 31, 1992, cat. 82.5kg. Barcelona 1992
It has taken a full 88 years for Greek weightlifting to win another Olympic gold medal (Kakousis 1904). A victory that actually came about, unexpectedly for many, with a lot of effort, anxiety, tension and of course wonderful tactics on the part of the national coach Christos Iakovou.
In the spring of 1992, 21-year-old Pyrros Dimas won the bronze medal in the Hungarian city of Seksard, showing for the first time what he was capable of. The winner was Russian Samadov, representative of the united group of former Soviet republics, with a total of 370 kg. The second place was taken by Siemion from Poland with 367.5 kg, which was exactly the same weight as Dimas, but he was slightly heavier than the Polish in terms of body weight. In Barcelona, 31 athletes from 26 countries participated in the 82.5 kg category, and it was expected that the competition would be particularly tough. The three athletes were, of course, among the favorites and with them the Bulgarian Bratoytchev, who had a specialty in the snatch, but was disadvantaged in the jerk. Pyrros Dimas and Krzysztof Siemion were weighed exactly the same in terms of body weight, while Ibragim Samandov, gold world champion in 1991, was 50 grams heavier than them. The snatch competition was completed with three athletes lifting exactly the same weight, 167.5, and the result was to be dramatic. Dimas, Samadov and Bratoychev were in the lead, with Siemion and North Korean Chol Ho Chon following at 165 kg. Pyrros started successfully in the Jerk with 202.5kg and immediately managed the first jerk with 370kg, while Samadov did the same a little later. A little later, however, Siemion joined in at 370k with 205k in the snatch. The bar was at 207.5k, where Poland’s Siemion, Dimas and Chol Ho Chon failed in two attempts, while Samadov also had one miss. In other words, the race ended with a three-way tie at a total of 370k, while Pyrros’ last miss in the Jerk was accompanied by something completely unusual in Olympic history. The champion from Chimara shouted “for Greece…” during his attempt, a phrase that shocked our entire country, even though the competition was not broadcasted live on Greek television. Three athletes at 370k and few knew exactly how the medals were distributed. Samadov, who was heavier (81kg. 850g) than Dima (81kg. 800g) and Siemion (81kg. 800g), finished third. The latter two had weighed exactly the same even in grams. Pyrros was crowned Olympic gold medalist because he was the first to reach the winning time after his successful 202.5km attempt. However, there were also unpleasant situations during the awarding of the medals. After Samadov first received the bronze medal from the hands of IOC member Nikos Filaretou, he put it down on the third step of the podium and left the podium. The IOC punished him by stripping him not only of the medal but also of his participation, while the International Weightlifting Federation banned him from competitions for life for his misconduct. The 82.5-kilometer category in Barcelona did not have a bronze winner, meaning the fourth-place finisher was not promoted to third place. The ranking Dimas (Greece) 370k Siemion (Poland) 370 – Cho Ho (N. Korea) 365 Bratoytchev (Bulgaria) 365 Ocana (Cuba) 365 Huster (Germany) 362.5 Ledea (Cuba) 362.5.
Gold medal, July 26, 1996, cat. 83kg. Atlanta 1996
in 1995, at the World Championships in China, Pyrros Dimas beat his great rival and friend, the German Marc Huster, because he was lighter, as the two athletes were tied for first place. So everyone expected a tough fight for the gold medal, but it didn’t come to that, thanks to the high value of the Greek champion. Pyrros left no room for hope for his opponents and, of course, neither did Huster, who soon saw his friend in the lead with a ten-kilo advantage in the snatch and even with a new world record of 180 kilos. Basically, the race was already half over and it was only a matter of finding out how many kilos would be lifted in the jerk and in total. Pyrros managed a new world record in the jerk with 213k, but also in the total with 392.5k in his last attempt. Huster improved the world record in the jerk with 213.5k. The Greek champion took the gold medal with one of the biggest differences in performance to the second and third place finishers. Huster was ten kilos behind and the Pole Cofalik was 20 kilos behind. The ranking Dimas (Greece) 392.5 Huster (Germany) 382.5 Cofalik (Poland) 372.5 Kunev (Australia) 370 Vacarciuc (Moldova) 367.5 Chakoyan (Armenia) 365 Sevic (Turkey) 362.5 Milev (Bulgaria) 360.
Gold medal, September 23, 2000, cat. 85kg. Sydney 2000
After two Olympic gold medals, Pyrros Dimas was aiming for his third victory, among other things with the goal of breaking the absolute record of three gold medals held by Naim Suleimanoglou of Turkey. Naim had been disqualified in the 62 kg category and his record had not been improved. Pyrros Dimas had great difficulty in getting rid of his excess pounds, and this caused him to be more restless and nervous than in the past. This paid off in the snatch, where he had two failed attempts at 175 kg and was able to lift the barbell and stay in the competition only on the third attempt. However, he was five kilos behind Georgian Giorge Asanidze and two and a half kilos behind German Marc Huster. Ahead of him, due to his lower body weight, was even the Armenian Chakhoyan, but with the same weight, 175 kg. The Greek champion therefore started the set from the fourth position, but with his first attempt of 210 kg he beat Chakhoyan. Asanitze also lifted 210 kg, while Huster finished a little later with 212.5 kg, upsetting the tactics of the opposing coaches. In other words, he placed first with a total of 390 kg and waited for Asanitze’s and Dimas’ attempts at 215 kg to see if he would stay on top. Asanidze lost his first attempt at 215kg, Pyrros, who came up after the Georgian, caught up with them and already we had a three-way tie at 390k. Dimas, Huster and Asanidze in the same position, but with Pyrros as the golden winner if the Georgian fails in his last attempt or if he himself fails to improve in his third attempt. Asanidze did not make it and Pyrros just listlessly tried for a new world record of 217.5k, knowing he was the winner. He was 160 grams lighter than Huster in bodyweight and 640 grams lighter than Asanidze. The ranking Dimas (Greece) 390 Huster (Germany) 390 Asanidze (Georgia) 390 Siemion (Poland) 380 Khachatryan (Armenia) 380 Chakoyan (Australia) 377.5 Spyrou (Greece) 375 Quiroga (Cuba) 375.
Bronze medal, August 21, 2004, cat. 85kg. Athens 2004
Pyrros Dimas won the bronze medal in the category up to 85 kg and became the first in the list of athletes who have won four consecutive Olympic medals. There are four participants in this list, with him leading the way with three gold and one bronze medal. He entered the competition with a wrist problem and leg discomfort after meniscus surgery 50 days earlier. In the snatch, he lifted 175 kg and finished his attempt in third place. On jerk, he started with 202.5 kg and then missed an attempt of 205 kg, only to perform 207.5 kg on bars in the final to win his fourth gold medal. He tried but his arm buckled, the effect of the injection he had received before the competition had already worn off. With a total score of 377.5k, he won the bronze medal. He took off his shoes and put them in the corner of the field. It was the big goodbye, it was time to say goodbye. And then something unique happened. Five thousand sports fans with the slogans “Pyrros – Pyrros” and “Hellas – Hellas” applauded the Greek champion for ten minutes and did not allow the medals to be awarded. His apotheosis in the final was amazing, incredible, touching. The winner was George Asanidze from Georgia, third in Sydney, while Rybakov from Belarus from the second group finished second. The ranking Asanidze (Georgia) 382.5k Rybakou (Belarus) 380 Dimas (Greece) 377.5 Markoulas (Greece) 372.5 Yuan (China) 372.5 Anishchanka (Belarus) 370 Martirosyan (Armenia) 367.5 Song (South Korea) 360.
