Leonidas Sabanis

Leonidas Sabanis

Personal information
Born	October 28, 1971 Korçë, Albania
Medal record Men's Weightlifting Representing Albania European Championships 1989 Athens – 56 kg 1990 Aalborg – 56 kg Representing Greece Summer Olympics 1996 Atlanta – 59 kg 2000 Sydney – 62 kg World Championships 1998 Lahti – 62 kg 1999 Athens – 62 kg European Championships 1997 Rijeka – 59 kg 1998 Riesa – 62 kg 1999 La Coruña – 62 kg

Leonidas Sabanis (sometimes spelled Leonidas Sampanis Greek: Λεωνίδας Σαμπάνης) is a Greek retired weightlifter, who represented Greece in 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. He has also been a World Champion representing Greece.

Early life & career

An ethnic Greek, Sabanis was born Luan Shabani in October 28, 1971 in southern Albania.

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 56kg category. He was the first Albanian to win a medal at a European Championship. A year later, at the European Championship in Aalborg (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 in Atlanta, USA and in the 62 kg category in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Sabanis was originally awarded a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but the medal was later stripped from him as a result of a doping scandal.