Η Hellenic Olympic Academy expresses its sincere condolences on the loss of the great Lamby Nikolaou, former President of the The Hellenic Olympic Committee and First Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee, who served the Olympic Movement with ethics and dedication.
Ο President of ETHNOA and Olympic champion Demosthenes Tabakos expressed his sincere condolences to his family and all those who loved him, bidding farewell to Lambis Nikolaou, who with his multi-dimensional work contributed substantially to the dissemination of the values of Olympism and the promotion of sport, while upgrading the role of Greece in the international sports scene.
«Lambis Nikolaou served Greek sport with consistency, dedication and knowledge. I had the honour of being awarded my first Olympic medal, the silver, in Sydney. He then told me: «I will be back in Athens and I will give you the gold». And so it happened. He was also the one who helped me get the gold medal. wild card and be able to compete in the Athens Olympics. At first he was silent, but when he was sure, before it was officially announced, he said, «I have it in my pocket.».
I bid farewell with gratitude and respect to a man who served the values of sport with ethics».
Who was Lambis Nikolaou
Lambis Nikolaou was born on 23 November 1935 in Athens and studied civil engineering at the Technical University of Munich. He worked as a public works contractor and was general manager of the company EDOK-ETER from 1977 to 1982. Under his direction, the Olympic Stadium and the Peace and Friendship Stadium were completed.
He was President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee for 14 years (1985-1992, 1997-2004) and Vice President of the Organizing Committee of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. During his presidency the construction of the new Conference Centre of the International Olympic Academy in Ancient Olympia and the new offices of the Hellenic Olympic Committee in Halandri were completed.
He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee, representing Greece with consistency, ethics and prestige in the highest bodies of the Olympic family. He was a member from 1986 to 2015 and an honorary member from 2016 onwards. He served as a member of the IOC Executive Committee (2001-2005) and Vice President (2005-2009), the highest position ever held by a Greek in the Olympic Movement after Dimitrios Vikelas. He was also President of the IOC's Commission for Culture and Olympic Education (2010-2015) and President of the Commission for Culture and Olympic Heritage (2015-2016).
Finally, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees (1989-1993, 1997-2009), as well as a member and Vice President (2001-2004) of the Ephorate of the International Olympic Academy.
