The loss of his first wife, Anastasia, the way he handled his grief, as well as the racism he experienced when he came from Northern Epirus to Greece, were some of the topics that Pyrros Dimas spoke about in a full-length interview he gave on the show "TET-A-TET" on Sunday, March 9.
The Olympic gold medalist spoke about her battle with cancer, her endurance and their last moments together. Pyrros Dimas explained how difficult it was for him to lose his wife, highlighted the role of his children, who supported him, while confessing that after her death, his battle with bulimia followed. In the same interview, the Olympic champion focused particularly on the prejudices he faced as a Northern Epirusian in Greece and how his success in the Olympic Games changed the world's perceptions.
Watch the interview with Pyrros Dimas
Pyrros Dimas described his acquaintance with his first wife and emphasized how much she supported him in his career. As he said: "We met in 1992. Her parents were from Litochoro, we met at an interview and since then we have been inseparable. I don't know if I went through all the stages of mourning. What I know is that it is difficult. When you have lost your other half, I may have won 4 Olympic medals, if she hadn't been by my side I wouldn't have won even 1. She supported me and was an unsung hero. A person who had such a good heart but didn't caress your ears."
The Olympic gold medalist spoke about the difficult times they went through while his first wife was fighting her battle with cancer. In particular, he said: "Anastasia prepared us, we had a difficult 3 and a half years. She endured an illness that the doctors said would last 6 months and she endured 3 and a half years. She had come to America, we had gone to doctors there, they had seen us. She was fine, I was tired of chasing her around the shops. She was a person who liked traveling and that's what I offered her lately. Until she relapsed and they threw up their hands. I was by her side when she left. Fortunately, the Americans also told me you're leaving, you're going to Greece, as long as it takes. They supported me so much from the Federation the whole time."
As Pyrros Dimas explained, her only worry about leaving life was their little son. "Anastasia's only worry was the little one, the others had gone their separate ways. She had told me that I was little and I had to fix my life. Maria and Nikolas were at home and were struggling with everything they had been through. Viktor, who was more attached, came with the intention of supporting me and when he saw the situation he said "I can't" and left. These are things that we can't handle. I also remember close friends who moved away for a while because it wasn't easy," he said characteristically.
During the period of mourning, his children were the ones who helped him cope with the loss of his wife. "The children kept me alive, standing. When Anastasia got sick I weighed 95 kilos and when I lost her I was 120. There are people who lose weight and I got bulimia nervosa because it calmed me down, it made me feel good. It was very difficult. Everything takes its time, we slowly digest it inside ourselves, but we never stop loving our people and thinking about them," he confessed.
At another point in the interview, Pyrros Dimas referred to the racist attitudes that he, as a Northern Epirus resident, received upon his arrival in Greece. Specifically, he explained: "In Nea Smyrni, the first security doors started to be installed. I would enter the supermarket and everyone would say, 'watch out for him.' It bothered me a lot and I remember getting on the buses and holding on with both hands so that they wouldn't be afraid of their pockets. The borders and prisons had opened and very dangerous people had come here at that time and it was logical for people to be afraid. And on top of that, the dry ones also took the green ones, people don't say that by chance. The ball was getting to all of us until Barcelona came, I got the medal and they changed not only towards me but also towards our compatriots. You say you are Greeks from Northern Epirus and they tell you it is Albania."
Source: protothema
