Pyrros Dimas was born to ethnic Greek parents in Himara, Northern Epirus (southern Albania) on 13 October 1971. Dimas is a retired Greek weightlifter, considered   as one of the greatest of all time, having been three times Olympic champion and three times World Champion. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won yet another gold medal, this time in the 85 kg class. This made him one of just three weightlifters at that time to have won three Olympic gold medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Dimas was again chosen as Greek flagbearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Dimas was recovering from knee surgery and a hurt wrist and was not expected to compete in these Olympics, but he came away with a bronze medal in the 85 kg class, becoming only the fourth weightlifter in history to win a medal at four different Olympic Games and only the third to win them successively four times, thus cementing his status as a national hero in Greece. After earning the bronze medal he signalled his retirement by leaving his shoes on the platform, while the appreciative Greek crowd gave him a standing ovation. In June 2008, Dimas became vice-president, and in October 2008 president of the Hellenic Weightlifting Federation