Early Years
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 said that his arm should be amputated. Tofalos' father opposed to it and finally proved to be right. His son recovered, but as a result of the accident one of his arms was shorter than the other. His physical defect did not stop him from becoming one of the greatest Greek athletes of all times.
Read more about this topic: Dimitrios Tofalos
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)