Career
Dimitrios Tofalos Arena is named after him. Tofalos" herculean strength was obvious from his childhood. Everybody talked about his physical abilities and for some time he was considered a child prodigy, since he survived a very serious accident.
He was playing around a railway station, when a wagon came down on him and almost smashed his arm.
He was taken to hospital where the doctors declared that his arm should be amputated. Tofalos" father opposed to it and finally proved to be right.
His physical defect did not stop him from becoming one of the greatest Greek athletes of all time. Unable to take part in the 1904 Summer Olympics due to a disease, he competed at the, where he took part in the two-days weightlifting competition with both hands.
Both of them lifted 136.5 kg very easily.
They then had to lift 142.5 kg, but both Tofalos and Steinbach failed on their 1st attempt. His record lasted until 1914. In 1910, Tofalos travelled to the United States for financial reasons.
There were many reports about Tofalos for a long time, when he refused to give up a game after a crushing arm-lock by the American World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Frank Gotch, who always forced his competitor to give up.
His persistence cost Tofalos three months in the hospital, but that incident contributed to his legend. After retiring, he spent many years of his life being the manager of Jim Londos, a professional wrestler who was one of the most popular stars wrestling offered during the Great Depression.
He eventually went back to his native Patras in 1952, where he spent the last three years of his life. The municipality of Patras honored him by naming a newly built arena after him in 1995.