Modest, noble, authentic. OUR Pyrros Dimas, who filled us with pride every time he won an Olympic medal and put all of Greece on the podium, speaks to us via Zoom from Argentina, where he is based. Our discussion revolves around his book. Nikos Efstatiou “Pyrrhus. With my name” (published by Papadopoulos), where the Olympic champion speaks clearly and directly about his experiences from childhood to the present day. A book that tries to highlight the person behind the legend.

The idea of ​​the project “was born” thanks to the friendship of the author with the son of Pyrrhus Victor. “Nikos set out to write a book with four different role models and personalities from the arts, sports and politics. I liked it as an idea, it would have been a story, not my whole life.” says the athlete in “K” and adds: “I had complete confidence in him, and when he told me to do a whole book, I didn’t hesitate. Before that, I had not even thought about such a possibility. ”

At the first meeting, the writer and journalist Nikos Efstatiou was surprised by the information, which he did not know, and which was not just a cinematic narrative, but also a scary story about Greece itself. “What I heard about his life in Albania and here, as well as the results of the research I did, really opened my eyes,” the author tells us.

The investigation lasted less than a year and began with their first meeting in the summer of 2021, shortly before Dimas’ trip to the Olympics. There were a lot of daily conversations because a lot of the elements had to be crossover. These discussions were followed by intensive research. “Only for the first part of the book, I read 24 books on the history of the Greek minority in Albania and the history of Albania. But there are so many books about how he came to Greece. About how the personality of the athlete was destroyed, about the racism that he experienced, etc.” An important source in the research part was the dossier of the wife of Pirros Dimas, Anastasia Sdugu, which contained all the publications and documents. This extensive material helped provide additional information.

Project call

Of course, such a project is fraught with many problems. One of them was communication, since the Olympic champion traveled a lot. For his part, the author is initially in anxiety, insecurity and self-doubt, since he was not a sportswriter and did not experience most of the events for himself. “So, Pyrrhus’ narratives were not linear. They had to line up for a literary venture true to his voice.” It was also difficult to include in the book the loss from the life of Pyrrhos Dimas after the death of his wife, which had to be treated with respect.

I remember seeing the lights of Corfu from Himarra and wondering if I would go there one day. I tried to dream.

The story begins with the fact that the athlete grew up in Heimarra, Albania. Little Pyrros was brought up by his grandmother Eleni. “For me, this grandmother was a university. He taught me poems, songs, old fairy tales. I may not have gone to a Greek school, but all this has taken root in me and I keep it forever,” Mr. Dimas says with obvious excitement.

I ask him what he dreamed of as a child. “I remember seeing the lights of Corfu from Himarra and wondering if I would go there one day. I tried to dream. At some point, television appeared, and we saw what life was like there.”

In the end, he came to Greece in 1988 with the Albanian national team, and from 1990 he began a new life. “Greece was very beautiful, different, but with difficulties. Every day you tried to prove that you are not an elephant, to fight the bureaucracy. In addition, there were weightlifters who objected to my documents, because if I became a Greek, I would take someone else’s place,” he notes.

Starting from scratch

His fame in Albania was Olympic. But, as the author emphasizes, “sporting factors and the system in Greece, unfortunately, did not treat him properly, so in Greece he started from scratch.” Pyrrhus himself states in the book: “It made me see that everything in life is ephemeral: today you are upstairs, the next day you are down again.” Despite all this, his love for Greece was undeniable.

The book is in its third edition, and an English translation is also in the works, and there are thoughts of a documentary. In addition, and it should be emphasized, says Dimas, the proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Elpida Children’s Oncology Department, SOS Villages and the Floga Association of Parents of Children with Cancer.

The career of Pirros Dimas developed brilliantly, there were many awards. However, he says his children are his biggest medals. As for his most successful racing moment, it was 2004 in Athens. “I would not have competed if the Olympics had been held in another city then. I fought with one foot and one arm.”