Konstantinos Tsiklitiras was a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 athlete and Olympic champion.

Born in Pylos

Pylos

Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...

, he moved to Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 to study commerce. Tsiklitiras soon took up sports. He practiced soccer (for Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos is a multi-sport club based in Athens, Greece. It has the shamrock as its official emblem and green and white as its colours...

) and water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

, but is best remembered for winning four Olympic medals in standing long jump

Standing long jump

The standing long jump is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912.In performing the standing long jump, the jumper stands at a line marked on the ground with their feet slightly apart. The athlete takes off and lands using both feet, swinging their arms and bending their knees to...

 and standing high jump

Standing high jump

The standing high jump is an athletics event that was featured in the Olympics from 1900 to 1912.It is performed in the same way as high jump, with the difference being that the athlete stands still and jumps with both feet together....

. He became Greek champion 19 times.

His career came to a halt in 1913 when he volunteered to fight in the Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

 and fought at the Battle of Bizani

Battle of Bizani

The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on March 4–6, 1913. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.At the...

, although he could avoid conscription he insisted on fighting for his country. He contracted meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

and died at the age of 24.