Charalambos Cholidis, who won two Olympic medals for Greece in wrestling in the 1980s, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 62.
Cholidis was born to Greek parents in Kazakhstan in 1956, and moved to Athens, Greece in 1965. Three years later, he took up wrestling. He would eventually go on to compete at the Olympics four times from 1976 to 1988. He was a bronze medalist in the Men’s Greco-Roman 57 kg event at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he also had the honor of being Greece’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
In addition to his Olympic triumphs, Cholidis won three European Championship medals, as well as two World Championship medals. After his retirement from the sport, he coached the Greek national wrestling team from 1998 to 2000.
Unfortunately, Cholidis passed away on Wednesday at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack.
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