Leonidas Sabanis (, ; born 28 October 1971), sometimes spelled Leonidas Sampanis, is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

retired

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

, born in the city of Korce, Albania. He represented Albania in the 1989 European Weightlifting Championship. He switched allegiance after the fall of Communism in Albania in 1991. He represented Greece in 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. He has also been a World Champion representing Greece. He was named the 1998

Greek Male Athlete of the Year Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Early life and career

Sabanis was born Luan Shabani on 28 October 1971 in southern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

to a

family.

Results representing Albania

At the European Championship in Athens, Greece, in 1989, Sabanis represented Albania as ''Luan Shabani'' and won a bronze (big) medal in the 56 kg category. He was the first to win a medal at a European Championship for Albania. A year later, at the European Championship in

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(Denmark) in 1990, Sabanis won a silver (big) medal, and the first such medal for Albania.

Results representing Greece

Sabanis emigrated to Greece in 1991 and represented Greece starting from 1993. He won a silver medal in the 59 kg category at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

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, United States and in the 62 kg category in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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, Australia. Sabanis was originally awarded a bronze medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

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, but the medal was later stripped from him as a result of a doping scandal.

References

External links

* } * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabanis, Leonidas 1971 births Albanian male weightlifters Greek male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Greece Panathinaikos weighlifters Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Greece Living people Doping cases in weightlifting Greek sportspeople in doping cases Sabanis Olympic medalists in weightlifting Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Albanian emigrants to Greece Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games medalists in weightlifting Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games European Weightlifting Championships medalists World Weightlifting Championships medalists