Alexandros Nikolaidis

Olympic Medals

Taekwondo

Silver medal, August 29, 2004, Alexandros Nikolaidis, cat.+80k. Athens 2004

In 2000 in Sydney Alexandros Nikolaidis broke his leg and lost his chance to win an Olympic medal. He succeeded in Athens, where he won the silver medal in the +80kg category, although he was determined to fight for the first place himself. The two-metre champion reached the final with three victories, which he won with intelligence and comfort. Against him Rivera (Colombia) lost 7:3, Zrouri (Morocco) 5:2 and Kamal (Jordan) 6:3. His opponent in the final is South Korean Dae-Seong Mun, an athlete who knows the game of the Greek champion. At the beginning of their match, Nikolaidis received a powerful blow to the head during an attack by Mun, and with a knockout victory he finished second, a great success.

The final ranking: Mun (South Korea) Nikolaidis (Greece) Gentil (France) Kamal (Jordan) Zrouri (Morocco) Sagindykov (Kazakhstan) Rivera (Colombia) Garcia (Spain)

Silver medal, August 23, 2008, Alexandros Nikolaidis Cat. +80k. Beijing 2008

In his third participation in the Olympic Games, the Greek champion from Thessaloniki climbed the podium for the second time. He won the silver medal again after losing the final 5-4 on points to South Korean Dong Min Cha, although experts indicated that he could have won gold. Along the way, he beat Chilmanov (Kazakhstan) by 4-3 points, Zrouri (Morocco) by 5-4 and Chukwumerije (Nigeria) by 3-2.

The final ranking: Cha (South Korea) Nikolaidis (Greece) Chilmanov (Kazakhstan) Chukwumerije (Nigeria) Irgashev (Uzbekistan) Moitland (Costa Rica) Zrouri (Morocco).

Alexandros Nikolaidis will unexpectedly die, hit by a rare disease on October 14, 2022 at the age of 42, leaving the Greek sports and Olympic family in mourning. In addition to his amazing athletic abilities, he also stood out for his character and ethics.

They said..

“Going into the final, I had in my mind a strong desire to win the gold medal. In the back of my mind I also had the thought that the referee might do me wrong. I can not say that the referee did me wrong, but I did not get a point, which annoyed me, and that was wrong. I am happy about my silver medal, but it would be a lie to say that I am completely satisfied, because I wanted gold. From now on I am thinking about Beijing 2008”

August 29 2004

“Maybe I deserved a little more in the final. Some points in my favor or some penalties for my opponent. I am not ungrateful, certainly the silver medal is a success, but it leaves a bittersweet taste. For an athlete like me, who learned to fight for the first place, the second place does not fill me up completely.”

August 23, 2008