The International Weightlifting Federation -IWF- has appointed Greek champion Pyrros Dimas as its new Weightlifting Ambassador, recognising his sporting achievements, international profile and contribution to the development and promotion of weightlifting. The appointment places one of the sport’s great Olympic figures as an institutional face of the federation for fans, young athletes and communities across the five continents.
The appointment, made following a proposal by Astrit Hasani, president of the European Weightlifting Federation -EWF- and vice-president of the IWF, comes at a time when the international federation is seeking to strengthen weightlifting’s projection within the Olympic Movement. The institutional line led by IWF president Mohammed Jalood and secretary general José Quiñones points towards consolidating the sport’s international image through a combination of history, stability, modernisation and innovation.
An Olympic career turned into a symbol
Dimas is one of the most recognisable names in the history of weightlifting. He was Olympic champion for Greece at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, and closed his Olympic career at home with bronze at Athens 2004. The IWF presents him as the most successful lifter in its history and as the most decorated athlete in Greece across all sports.
His career also includes personal bests of 180.5 kilos in the snatch, 215 kilos in the clean and jerk, and 392.5 kilos in total. He was also a three-time world champion, in 1993, 1995 and 1998; was inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2009; and served as a member of the Hellenic Parliament between 2012 and 2015. He is currently a member of the IWF Executive Board and leads the IWF Innovation Committee, a position that reinforces his role beyond his competitive legacy.
An ambassador to defend the Olympic value of the sport
“I am very honoured with this recognition and truly humbled to be the ‘face’ of weightlifting among our fans on the five continents,” Dimas said. The Greek champion said he takes on this new role with “a huge sense of responsibility” and with the desire to promote the sport he loves in the best possible way.
Dimas also linked his new position to the defence of weightlifting within the Olympic Movement. “I will also devote my best energy to reaffirming weightlifting’s strength and value within the Olympic Movement,” he added. The Greek recalled that the discipline was one of the nine founding sports of the first edition of the modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, and stressed that weightlifting has “a long and successful tradition”.
Lausanne, Coventry and an image of institutional continuity
The appointment follows Dimas’s recent visit to Lausanne, where he signed the Olympian’s Wall at the Olympic House. During that ceremony, he met International Olympic Committee -IOC- president Kirsty Coventry, in an event also attended by Jalood and Quiñones. The image places one of weightlifting’s great legends at the centre of the Olympic environment and reinforces the connection between the sport’s legacy and its current institutional stage.
Dimas recalled that the IWF has had many great athletes over its 120 years of history and said he felt “privileged” to be among those who have contributed to that journey since the federation was founded in 1905. “In my different capacities, and since my retirement, I have always tried to give back to the sport as much as I could. The title of ambassador is the culmination of that effort,” he said. “We know that not every child who begins a physical activity will become a champion, but he or she will definitely be part of a happier and healthier world, and that remains the most important thing,” Dimas concluded.
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