Pyrros dimas biography sampler

“In the refugees I see the common struggle all people have. They want a better future for their children, not one filled with suffering and worries. People can withstand anything: hunger, and authoritarian regimes. However, it is extremely difficult to accept the idea that you and your children may go to sleep one night and not know whether or not you will wake up alive the next day due to a bomb,” says Pyrros Dimas. He has got four children: Eleni, Vicktora, Maria and Nickola. He knows very well what anxiety parents experience when it comes to their children. Right now 60% of refugees in Greece are women and children.

This three-time Olympic gold medal winner and one-time bronze winner came to Greece from Albania in 1991. “Personally I have never felt like a refugee. I came to my country. I did not go to another country to feel like a refugee or an immigrant. I came here with legal papers and with my entire family. I also had help from Yianni Syorou. However, there were other people from the Northern Epirus who came here illegally from the mountains and who risked their lives. Among the first to come here were Tselilis and Mitrou who told me how they got past the mountains while walking on a frozen river during winter and hearing the bullets whistling past the tops of their heads. A lot of people were lost then trying to get to Greece looking for a better tomorrow both for themselves and their children,” he says.

I met Pyrros after his first Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. I had been working for EPT 3 together with my wife, Anastasia Sthonkou. We were getting ready to leave the EPT 3 office on Stratou Boulevard for Italian lessons. When she asked if I minded her bringing along a friend, I really did not want a third party. I knew we would end up having a good time instead of learning . (We had the lessons at Rika’s house. ) Our friend was waiting outside the French Institute, which is o

During the Junior Pan American Championships in Cuba, I had the chance to sit down with Pyrros Dimas and Mike Gattone to discuss technique.

In case you don’t know, Pyrros and Mike are basically USAW’s head coaches at international events. Pyrros’s official title is Technical Director, and Mike’s is Senior Director of Sport Performance. Pyrros is a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and Mike has been coaching for thirty years. Mike coached the Tara Nott – Olympic Gold Medalist. What I am trying to explain is that between the two, they possess a wealth of knowledge. You would have to be a fool not to at least listen to these wise men.

AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE

We ended up discussing all of my individual Team USA athletes, and then the conversation turned to Pyrros’s observations of America in general. Over the last few years under the leadership of Phil Andrews (USAW’s CEO), American weightlifting has exploded. During the last Olympic quad, Americans talked about “making the world team at the Olympics.” Now we are medaling at every international competition. Heck, now our teams are winning the big events. For example, at the Youth Worlds, the men’s and women’s teams both won the team competition. That was a first in American weightlifting history.

With all the “new normal” happening, Pyrros explained a couple of things that still have to happen before American weightlifting can truly dominate:

1. Identify and recruit younger ages to create pure weightlifters.
2. Stop humping the bar.

As far as identifying and recruiting younger athletes, I totally agree. It’s so much easier to develop athletes when you get them young. I have two incredible youth athletes, Ryan Grimsland and Morgan McCullough. I have several others who have the ability to become incredible. It’s simply easier to teach athletes at a young age. They don’t have faulty movement patterns to unlearn. For the most part, they aren’t distracted by life events like colle

If you read this blog or any weightlifting blog or new site, you probably know who Pyrros Dimas is. He is the most decorated Olympic weightlifter of all time, having won 3 Olympic gold Medals and one bronze.

Anyhow, this interview supports what I have written about on the Soviet , Chinese, Kazak, and Bulgarian systems either in my book, articles, or this blog.  Which, my dear friends of the internet, really should come as no surprise, as my information is based on having trained in all these places or trained with someone who is an expert in a place’s system.  

First, I would like to encourage you to watch both part 1 and part 2 of the series and read the rest of this article. It is very easy to watch, and, of course, who wouldn’t want to hear Pyrros Dimas- the man, the myth, the legend- speak for himself.

Key points Dimas makes in this documentary: