Athens Olympic champion Ilias Iliadis has fired himself back into the judo limelight after learning he was no longer rated as a serious contender at the World Campionships in Tokyo.
Hours before winning the under 90 kg. middleweight gold medal Friday night, the 23 year old Greek athlete stopped by a souvenir kiosk at the venue but could not find his picture in a Japanese magazine featuring stars of the championships.
He was seen leaving in apparent disappointment.
“That’s why I’ve won,” Iliadis said after beating six opponents, including two Japanese stars who were headlined in the magazine. “I’m back in form after struggling with injuries for two years.”
Iliadis, who emigrated to Greece from Georgia at the age of 12, set his adopted country alight when he won the 81kg gold medal before home fans at the 2004 Athens Olympics when he was only 17 and already the European champion.
He has stepped up to the 90kg class and settled for silver at the 2005 and 2007 worlds. He remains the only Olympic or world medallist from Greece.
But he has since undergone surgery on his knees twice — after the Beijing Olympics, where he faded in the first round, and after the 2009 world championships in Rotterdam, where he finished 17th.
“Apart from physical rehabilitation, I have kept myself motivated with help from people around me and my own efforts,” said Iliadis, famous for his enormous muscle power. “It’s not the raw power but mental strength that matters.”
He came back into action this year when he finished third at the European championships in Vienna in April and fifth at the high profile Grand Slam event in Rio de Janeiro. He was also fifth at another Grand Slam in Moscow in July.
In Tokyo, Iliadis dumped Japan’s world middleweight points leader Takashi Ono in their third match. In the final, he finished the match with younger Japanese Daiki Nishiyama with a spectacular wrap-around throw in extra time.
“I felt whatever will be will be. It was my day,” he said. “My judo is based only on the attack, I don’t really care about who is in front of me. I just keep pushing and pushing until my opponents make some mistakes.”
“I will rest up for now and I’ll take part in any Grand Prix event in front of me,” said the Greek, adding that the 2012 London Olympics is still far away and that he has not started any preparation yet.
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