"The Greek Lion of Himara" Pyrros Dimas

To many, in terms of pound for pound strength, he has no equal. His World and Olympic runs have not been surpassed. His legacy in his homeland of Greece and World wide can not be touch.

Early years

Pyrros was born in 1971 on the 13th of October of Greek parents, of Greek orthodox Christians, in a predominately Greek part of One reAlbania called Himara. In 1991 the iron curtain fell and, at 20 years old, Pyrros could finally move  to Greece where he quickly made a name for himself in the world of Olympic Weightlifting.

Greece was never a power house in sports. Children of Greece were never given many national heroes to look up to and idolize when growing up. While Children from nations like USA, Canada and Britain would go out and play basketball dreaming of becoming the next Michael Jordan, play hockey dreaming of becoming the next Wayne Gretzky, and play soccer and dream of becoming the next David Beckham, Greek kids had to look abroad for their sporting heroes. Every nation seemed to have one sport they were good at. Every nation seemed to have legends that defied the odds and triumphed when every one said they could not. Men and Women that would compete on a world stage and make their fellow citizens proud to say they were their countrymen/women.

1992 Barcelona Olympic Games

For the longest time Greece did not have this. Pyrros Dimas showed up in 1991 and gave Greece what it was waiting for. When Greece needed a man to rise up and perform acts the rest of the World would marvel at, Pyrros Dimas was their gift from the gods. His arrival to the rest of the World was official at the 1992 Olympics.

Held in Barcelona, the Olympic games were a dismal failure for Greek athletes outside of gold medal winning track star Voula Patoulidou. Voula won the gold medal in the women’s 100 meter hurdles, and was instantly adored by the Greek media. But it was when Pyrros stepped onto the weight lifting platform to hoist up 202.5 kg (445.5 pounds) that Greece seen the birth of a super star. Two other lifters in his weight class (Krzystof Siemion of Poland and Ibragim Samadov of Unified Team) lifted the same weight in their third attempts, but Pyrros having done it in his second attempt was award the victory. It was enough to place a 21-year-old Pyrros as the greatest middleweight in the World, and earn him an Olympic Gold Medal.

In a monumental lift that will forever be immortalized in highlight reels Pyrros put up the weight as if it was a simple training session in the gym. Like a true Greek warrior, in the lift Pyrros shouted out “Gia thn Ellada!” which translates into English as “For Greece!” With the weight held over his head Pyrros stood triumphant with his arms stretched up in a victory pose. Before letting the weight down Pyrros nodded his head with a smile on his face in a “how do you like that” manner while looking back and forth at the amazed crowd. He stayed in this position for a moment to let photographers take their pictures before dropping the weight back down to earth. It was a moment will forever serve at one of the highlights of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and put Greece on the map for weightlifting.

New Fame from Olympic Games

When Greece’s 2 Olympic Champions returned home to Greece in Athens they were met by 100,000 proud Greeks who came to show their appreciation. Their arrival was televised and they had become national icons over night.

With great achievements comes great expectations, and with a lack of other World class athletes the expectations of a Nation were on Pyrros to deliver (Voula would never again take home an Olympic medal). Pyrros lived up to those expectations, and exceeded them.

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

In the World of Olympic weightlifting Pyrros Dimas became Greece’s Achillees. In between the 1992 and 1996 Olympics there were 3 World Championships, and Dimas won 2 of them (1993 and 1995). Heading into the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta Dimas was a heavy favorite to win the Gold medal again. To no one’s surprise, he was Greece’s flagbearer in the open ceremonies for the Greek Olympic team. If Americans in Atlanta had not known who Pyrros Dimas was before, they were about to find out. A Nation that boasted many World class athletes with an arrogant confidence was about to be humbled.