News of his death Alexandru Nikolaides fell like lightning. The 42-year-old “silver” Olympic champion of Beijing and Athens has died of a rare form of cancer (nut), which he had been battling for the past two years, but did not share his problem. His old teammates and friends were shocked to hear the news and couldn’t believe that Greek taekwondo had lost an outstanding athlete who won medals at the Olympics, World Championships and Europe.

Alexandros Nikolaidis started taekwondo at the age of three. He became the world and European champion among teenagers, and in 2000 he participated in the Olympic Games in Sydney. She was Areti Atanasopoulou next to him when he broke his leg during the match. “We were together in the national team from the first steps. In Sydney, based on his potential, he went to the final. But he broke his leg. It was hard for him, but he got through it with his family. He was very proud. He didn’t want to be pitied. Although it is difficult to recover from such injuries, Alexandros did it. We sparred together and I wanted him because he was strong. He joked when I hit him that he would lose confidence. It is important to be an Olympian in life, and not just on the mat. And Alexander was. said “K” world champion (2003).

The sports world is shaken by the untimely death of the 42-year-old taekwondo great.

In 2004, Nikolaidis won his second silver medal in the +80m. “For those of us who know, it was gold. Alexandros always had a smile on his face and supported the whole team. He had the heart of a small child. “We were playing basketball and he called me an octopus,” Olympic silver medalist Elli Mistakidou from Athens told us, while world champion Maria Karpataki added: “He was a great athlete. I called him Alexander the Great and told him to go out on the tatami like a soldier.” Alexandros Nikolaidis also had in his collection the gold (2008) and bronze (2010) medals of the European Championship and the first place at the Universiade (2004). He was the flag bearer for the Greek national team at the London Olympics.

However, the entire sports community is shocked by the death of the Olympian. Our leading athletes and sportswomen said goodbye to the old champion with their posts on social networks. His loss caused grief among politicians as well. Among others, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, SYRIZA President Alexis Tsipras, government spokesman Giannis Economou, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Health Minister Thanos Pleuris and others expressed their regret.

The funeral of Alexandros Nikoladis will take place today (4:00 pm) at the Holy Church of the Forerunner of Naples in Thessaloniki. His family requested that instead of wreaths, donations be made to charitable institutions.

“If even one child is saved, it will be worth every hit I have eaten”

“My friends, in this life where we are all transient, what is more important is what trace we leave, and not how and when we leave.” In a shocking post on his social media page, which was “flooded” just hours before his death became widely known, Alexandros Nikolaidis spoke about what he experienced in the fight against nut cancer, thanked everyone who helped him in this wrestling and mentioned the “imprint” he wants to leave in society. For this reason, he decided to put his two Olympic medals up for auction, and donate the proceeds to children’s institutions.

“If even one child is saved, it will be worth every blow to the head, every broken leg. This is the imprint I want to leave on society, this is the legacy I want to leave for my children.” With these words, the post of the Olympian, who calls himself “lucky”, ends, because, in his words, “I had the blessing to fulfill my dreams, climb the podium many times, glorify the sport and my country.”

Alexandros Nikolaidis thanked his family, doctors and medical staff and asked to inform the Greek medical community about this rare carcinoma. “If I am the first registered patient with walnut carcinoma in our country, let me be the reason to inform doctors, patients about this type of cancer, which, if diagnosed early, can save lives. Let’s be an excuse to significantly strengthen our national health system, which has been so underestimated in recent years, so as not to stand in queues for x-rays, chemotherapy or surgery and waste precious time,” – addressing the President of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, among other things, emphasizes: ” He supported me morally and practically, and also did everything possible to provide me with the best possible care.” It is worth noting that the Olympic champion, after retiring from the sport, took up social activities and was the deputy spokesman for SYRIZA.