Pyrros-Dimas-feature-photo

Pyrros Dimas: Early life, Death of wife & Net Worth

Pyrros Dimas is a famous Albanian-born former Greek weightlifter and a Greek politician. Similarly, he has won the gold medals for three consecutive years in the Olympic Games.

Likewise, he seems to be born as god-gifted to be a prominent living legend in weightlifting history. In addition, despite being born in Albania, he migrated to Greece in 1991.

Furthermore, besides holding the three-time Olympic Champion, he is a three-time World Championships titleholder and former European Championship titleholder.

Pyrros Dimas during his early days.
Pyrros Dimas during his early days.

Moreover, apart from these facts, he is also honored with several awards for his dedication and achievements in weightlifting.

Similarly, he was also nominated as the head of the Hellenic Weightlifting Federation upon his retirement. Furthermore, he was also named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year during the early 90s to mid-90s.

In addition, Pyrros is currently the technical director for USA weightlifting.

In the article, you will find detailed information regarding Pyrros Dimas’s early life, career, and many more.

Quick Facts

Here are some astonishing quick facts about Pyrros Dimas:

Full Name Pyrros Dimas
Nick/Celebrated name The Lion of Chimara, Midas
Date of birth October 13, 1971
Birthplace Himarë, Vlore County, Albania
Age 52 years old
Parents Father’s name- Not available
Mother’s name– Not available
Siblings Not available
Nationality Greek
Ethnicity Not available
Zodiac Sign  Libra
Height 5 ft 8 in
Weight 83.15 kg (183.3lbs)
Body Type Athletic
Eye Color Light Brown
Hair Color Light Brown
Sexual Orientation Straight
High School Not available
University Not available
Wife Anastasia Sdougkou (deceased)
Children Eleni Dimas (1995)
Victor Dimas (1998)
Maria Dimas (2000)
Nikolas Dimas (2009)
Profession Weightlifting
Achievements and Titles Snatch 180.5 kg (1999)
Clean & jerk 215 kg (2000)
Total 392.5 kg (1996)
Masters of Sports
European Master
Captain of the Hellenic Army
Represented Country  Greece
Events 85 kg
Coach Zef Kovaci
Recent Status Technical Director (USA weightlifting)
Salary Not Specified
Net worth $1 million – $1.5 million
Year active Not available
Weightlifting Merch Body Bars, Kettlebells, Sandbags 
Social Network Instagram, Twitter
Last update March, 2024

Pyrros Dimas: Family and Educational Background

Pyrros Dimas was born to Greek parents on October 13, 1971. Similarly, he grew up in Himarë, Vlore County, Albania.

However, sadly, there is no further more information regarding his family and educational background.

Pyrros Dimas: Body Measurements

Dimas has an athletic body type. Similarly, he stands 5 feet and 8 inches (1.73m) tall and weighs around 83.15 kg (183.3lbs).

Furthermore, his eyes color is light brown. In addition, he has golden-brown hair.

Likewise, the October-born athletic’s zodiac sign is Libra. As of the traits of Libra, he is an intelligent man with a sympathetic heart and affectionate.

Pyrros Dimas: Wife and Children

Dimas is a married man. Similarly, he is married to Anastasia Sdougkou. Likewise, she was a former reporter of the Greek National Television.

Furthermore, the couple is blessed with four children.

Similarly, they had their first daughter in 1995, and her name is Eleni Dimas. Likewise, their second child is a son named Victor Dimas, born in 1998.

Pyrros Dimas with his family.
Pyrros Dimas with his family.

Furthermore, Dimas’s third child was born in 2000, and her name is Maria Dimas.

Eventually, the couple had their son, Nickolas, in 2009.

Apart from this, sadly, there is no further more information about his family members.

Pyrros Dimas: Wife’s Death

Sadly, Dimas lost his wife, Anastasia, due to brain cancer. After fighting, brain cancer for three long years, she passed away on June 14, 2018.

Pyrros Dimas: Migration to Greece

When Dimas was in Aalborg, Greece, he came in contact with the representatives of the Greece National Team.

Therefore, he expressed his great enthusiasm for future cooperation with Giannis Sgouros and Christ Lakovou.

However, Dimas was prohibited from leaving the country due to the political situation in the People’s Republic of Albania.

Despite this fact, after several hours of the complete trip, he crossed the Greece-Albania border on February 7, 1991.

Similarly, after reaching Greece, he stayed in Athens. 

Furthermore, after a year of living in Greece, he acquired citizenship in 1992.

Pyrros Dimas: Professional Career

Early steps

Dimas was just 11 when he started the sport. Furthermore, he participated in the junior level game at 14. 

Moreover, he became the triple champion of Albania for the 83.5 kg category in 1989 when he was just 18. Similarly, he repeated himself in 1990 as well.

Likewise, he was being coached by Zef Kovaci while he was in Albania.

Furthermore, Dimas was accorded the title “Master of Sports” by the Albanian government and “European Master” by the European Weightlifting Federation in 1990.

Representing Albania

Before Dimas started representing Greece, he significantly made contributions to Albania. 

Similarly, he managed to rank himself 12th in the World and raked Albania 13th in the World in the 1989 62nd World Championship for weightlifting.

Furthermore, Dimas was ranked 4th in the 69th European Weightlifting Championship, held in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1990. In addition, he managed to rank Albania 3rd in the event.

Moreover, Dimas, Fatmir Bushi, and Leonidas Sabanis managed to rank Albania 2nd in the European Cup for Nation, held in Antalya, Turkey, in December 1990. Similarly, Bulgaria was ranked 1st in the event.

Representing Greece

Dimas represented Greece in the 1992 Summer Olympics after acquiring citizenship in 1992. similarly, he won the gold medal in the 82.5 kg class.

Likewise, he shouted “Για την Ελλάδα!” (For Greece) during his third lifting at the clean and jerk. Furthermore, getting a victory for Greece.

Similarly, during that time, Greece’s success at the Olympics was limited. However, Dimas and Voula Patoulidou, the surprise gold medalist at the 100m hurdles, were instant national heroes.

Furthermore, both of them were welcomed back by 60,000 people with a grand ceremony in the Panathinakon Stadium in Athens, including the other 30,000 people outside the stadium.

Moreover, during this event, his nickname rose from his birthplace as ‘The Lion of Himara’ and so was another nickname ‘Midas’ for the unprecedented number of Olympics Gold Medals.

Similarly, Dimas was expected to win the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics with the 1993 and 1995 World titles under his belts.

In addition, he won with the two new World Records in the 83 kg class. Moreover, he was a flag bearer for Greece.

Furthermore, he won another gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 85 kg class.

Similarly, Dimas was again chosen as the flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

However, sadly, he managed to bag only the bronze medal in the 85 kg class.

Political Career

Interestingly, after years of retirement, Dimas entered politics as a member of PASOK in 2012.

Soon after, he was controversial with Greece’s policies with Northern Epirus. Furthermore, he claimed that the Greek government had forgotten it.

Similarly, he participated in the ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the declaration of autonomy of the Republicans of Northern Epirus on February 17, 2014.

Furthermore, Dimas preaches against what he considers the Albanian state’s discriminatory policies against the Greek community of Himara.

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Pyrros Dimas: Awards and Achievements

Interestingly, Dimas was honored in 1996 for securing a second gold medal in the Olympics with the distinction of the Captain of the Hellenic Army by the Greek government.

After bagging a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he became the fourth weightlifter in history to win an award in four different Olympics Games.

Furthermore, he was ranked third among those four weightlifters. However, the weightlifter was the only one whose awards included three golds.

Therefore, he was considered as the national hero in Greece and as an international weightlifting legend.

Similarly, The Albanian government has awarded the ‘Master of Sports’ title to him.

Moreover, the European Weightlifting Federation has honored him ‘European Master’ title.

Pyrros Dimas: Accident and Injuries

Sadly, Dimas had to go through knee surgery during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Therefore, he could not perform the way he was supposed to.

Furthermore, he had hurt his wrist as well in the same year.

Fortunately, apart from this, he has not been a part of any severe accidents.

Pyrros Dimas: Controversy

Unfortunately, Dimas and Greek sprinter Costas Kenteris had to face expulsion from the Athens Games after failing a dope test in 2004.

Apart from this, Dimas has managed to keep his profile clean.

Pyrros Dimas: Net Worth

It can be estimated that Pyrros has earned an adequate amount of fortune throughout his career.

The total net worth of Pyrros Dimas is estimated to be around $1 million – $1.5 million as of 2024.

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Pyrros  Dimas: Social Media

Fortunately, Dimas is present in different social media. However, mostly he is active on Instagram.

Similarly, he has over 43.5k followers on his Instagram account. Furthermore, his account is verified as well.

Regarding his posts, he often shares his personal life. In addition, he also shares his professional life stuff as a technical director in the United States.

Pyrros Dimas posing for a photo during International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
Pyrros Dimas is posing for a photo during the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.

Likewise, the athlete is also available on Twitter as well. Sadly, he is not much active on Twitter.

There are over 3.1k followers on his Twitter account. Moreover, he tweets professional life stuff. Similarly, as of Twitter profile, he joined Twitter in May 2011.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why would Pyrros Dimas keep lifting even after the buzzer?

Pyrros Dimas lifted the weights even after the buzzer sounded so that the crowd could take photos.

How many gold medals has Pyrros Dimas won?

Pyrros Dimas has a total count of seven gold medals in different championships.

Similarly, Dimas has won a total of three gold medals in the Olympics Games.

Furthermore, he bagged three gold medals in the World Championships and one gold medal in the European Championships.

In addition to this, the weightlifter has won three bronze medals and two silver medals.

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