| Rank | Event | Year | Location | |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | -81 kg | 2004 | Athens, GRE | |
| 20 | -90 kg | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | -90 kg | 2011 | Paris, FRA | |
| 1 | -90 kg | 2010 | Tokyo, JPN | |
| 2 | -90 kg | 2007 | Rio de Janeiro, BRA | |
| 2 | -90 kg | 2005 | Cairo, EGY | |
| 17 | -90 kg | 2009 | Rotterdam, NED | |
| European Championships | ||||
| 1 | -90 kg | 2011 | Istanbul, TUR | |
| 3 | -90 kg | 2010 | Vienna, AUT | |
| Grand Slam | ||||
| 1 | -90 kg | 2012 | Moscow, RUS | |
| 1 | -90 kg | 2011 | Moscow, RUS | |
| World Cup | ||||
| 2 | -90 kg | 2009 | Tallinn, EST | |
| 3 | -90 kg | 2010 | Madrid, ESP | |
| 3 | -90 kg | 2010 | Sao Paulo, BRA | |
Hobbies
Hunting. (Hellenic Media Guide, 2004)
Family
Wife, one daughter, one son
Language(s) spoken
Greek, Russian
Club name
Filippos Amindeo, Amindeo, GRE
Coach
Nikos Ilidadis [father], Vladimir Kyriakides (sportdog.gr, 31 Aug 2011)
Other sports
His cousin, Zurab Zviadauri, represents Georgia in judo. He won a gold medal in the 90kg division at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. (alljudo.net, 08 Jan 2008; sportsdeskonline.com, 08 Jan 2008) His adoptive father, Nikos Ilidadis, is also his coach. (news.bbc.co.uk, 28 Sep 2007)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started judo at age 10 in Georgia. (hjf.gr, 10 Oct 2011)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Whoever says he is a winner commits an unholy wrong. Whoever says he is defeated commits a heartbreaking mistake." (sportdog.gr, 31 Aug 2011)
Awards
In 2011 the city council of Amindeo in Greece unanimously voted to rename the local gymnasium of his club Filippos Amindeo after him, in honour of his contribution to Greek sport. (sport24.gr, 31 Aug 2011; e-amyntaio.gr, 03 Sep 2011)
He became the first Greek judoka to win a gold medal at a world championship when he triumphed at the 2010 edition. (ellines.com, 13 Sep 2010)
He was the Greek flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (Xinhua, 15 Jul 2008)
General
FROM GEORGIA TO GREECE
He left his birth nation of Georgia in 2002 to compete for Greece. His coach, Nikos Iliadis, who is of Greek descent, adopted him before he turned 18 years old. The fact he was adopted before turning 18 allowed him to represent Greece in the Olympic Games without any question of his eligibility as a Greek citizen. Representing his adopted country he won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. It was Greece's first ever Olympic gold in judo. Some days after winning the gold medal, Greek media outlets reported for the first time that Nikos Iliadis was not his biological father as was widely assumed. It was revealed that his biological father was in fact Georgian and that he was in Greece at the time of the Olympic Games to watch his son compete under the Greek flag. (hellenicnews.com, 08 Jan 2008; bbc.co.uk, 18 Aug 2004; abc.net.au, 18 Aug 2004)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004
