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Nikos Kourtidis shouldering Greek weightlifting hopes
By Chris Galakoutis
| Tuesday, February 20 2007 9:21:55 PM |
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With the retirement of the greats as well as fewer athletes entering the sport, Greek weightlifting is going through many challenges at the present time.
But if the weight of expectations for a revival were to rest on any pair of shoulders, none would be more capable than those of Nikos Kourtidis.
The 20-year-old Greek weightlifter is viewed by many as the future of the sport in Greece, following in the footsteps of the legend, Pyrros Dimas.
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Kourtidis with Dimas
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Born in Georgia to ethnic Greek parents, Kourtidis and his family took up residence in Greece when he was a young child.
Like Dimas before him this young man has been described as possessing nerves of steel, completely unfazed by whoever his opposition might be - the kind of psychological makeup that separates the men from the boys, as it were.
On that subject he recently told "Sport.gr" that he doesn't care to look at competitor names during a competition, and that all he cares about is lifting the weight that "should" be lifted.
And when asked about the use of anabolic steroids in the sport, Kourtidis did not shy away from responding, reminding us of the confidence we saw in this young man when we met him at the World Championships last year.
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He said, "Every athlete has goals and tries to reach them using different means. Some use their physical abilities alone, others do not. Personally, I have never had the temptation to use drugs, it never crosses my mind. I rely on my physical strength alone."
His physical strength is extraordinary, winning 3 gold medals in the 105kgs division at the European Junior Championship last year while weighing only 97.80 kgs (215 lbs). He managed to out-lift his nearest competitor by a staggering 26 kgs overall.
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