China News Service, August 2nd. According to Greek media reports, the Greek weightlifter Thodoris Iakovidis recently announced after the Tokyo Olympics that he could no longer maintain his athletic career due to financial difficulties. .
According to reports, after failing to qualify for the final on July 31, Yakovidis burst into tears in an interview with the media. He said that the Olympic Games did not perform well enough and everything was over.
Unfortunately, in the case of unstable financial situation, he can't perform 100% of his due level, and can't train calmly.
Yakovidis said that he felt very tired. In this case, even physiotherapy could not be performed normally because the physiotherapist understood that he was financially struggling and would not charge him money. He felt embarrassed about it. embarrassment.
Yakovidis revealed that he had almost no income during training and only receives 200 euros from the Weightlifting Federation every month to prepare for the competition.
He said that sometimes even cars do not have enough fuel and can only rely on walking. "There are many such dark moments in my career."
Yakovidis said that he can no longer bear the financial constraints. "I want to stop and calm down. Now I just want to return to my family and friends, hug them and say thank you. This is what I have all these years. Motivation to keep going."
According to the report, Yakovidis’ speech quickly caused a huge response in Greek society, and a large number of people and organizations offered to donate to him to encourage him to continue to engage in weightlifting.
Pyros Dimas, a famous Greek weightlifter who has won three Olympic gold medals, spoke in support of Yakovidis and expressed his own responsibility for the difficult situation faced by the country's athletes.
Yakovidis represented Greece in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and in 2021, he once again participated in the Tokyo Olympics as a member of the Greek team.