Man At His Best
by Joe?Pulcinella
Chief Justice Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports pages first, which record people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures." I have to say that I agree.
Although I have been somewhat critical of the over-hyped, cutesy athletes that the media fawn over, I still attempt to watch weightlifting. I think?that a show of strength?is?one of man's most basic insticts and, for that reason, weightlifting is a sport that embodies the Olympics. And few feats in weightlifting (or any other sport) exhibit true sportsmanship more?than the bronze-medal performance of Greece's Pyrros Dimas.
Dimas, 32, placed his shoes on the platform after missing his final two lifts, the traditional sign of retirement. Later, he posed his three young children — all wearing shirts bearing No. 4 — on the medals stand and he plunged into the crowd to accept congratulations.
For those of you who don't know, Pyrros Dimas has already won gold in his last three Olympic appearances. He is truly a superstar in Greece and the most respected lifter of this generation. I'm happy to see that athletes still have this kind of class. Even class winner, George Asanidze, had this to say:
“I want to emphasize that Pyrros Dimas is not a bronze medalist, he is a three-time Olympic champion,? Asanidze said.
