(CNN) Few reach the pinnacle of their sport at the age of 17. Fewer still do so having undertaken a journey quite like Ilias Iliadis.
Growing up in Georgia around the country's separation from the Soviet Union, his formative years were tough.
Back then, lured to judo by its discipline, the future Olympic champion was known as Jarji Zviadauri.
Forced to train in the cold due to a lack of heating in the dojo, that didn't stop him dreaming. By the age of 10, the budding judoka's ambition to one day win gold on the grandest stage of all had already taken hold.
Nobody could have predicted he'd fulfill his goals just seven years later, carrying the flag of another nation at the ancient home of the Games.
A smiling Iliadis holds the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Greece
Fortunately young Jarji and his family were friends with Nikos Iliadis, national coach of the Greek judo team from 2000 to 2016.
It was agreed that Nikos would adopt the talented youngster, honing his skills with a view to making a life out of judo.
At the age of just 17, he became the youngest man ever to win gold in judo.
A new passport, a new country, a new name. Step forward Ilias Iliadis.
"You should never forget where you come from, that's very important," he says now, when asked which nation he identifies with. "My blood is Georgian but my mind is Greek."
Iliadis took to his new settings quickly, defeating several more established names to win the 2004 European Championships in Bucharest.
It meant the new kid on the block was already an Olympic contender before his 18th birthday, with the Athens Games just three months away.
Some would have felt pressure stepping onto the tatami with the weight of an adopted nation on their shoulders, but Iliadis was "100% ready."
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A dream and vow fulfilled
With victory in the half-middleweight category at a crowded Ano Liosia Olympic Hall, his life changed overnight. And not just because suddenly everyone recognized him on the streets of Greece.
Iliadis celebrates making the half-middleweight (-81kg) judo final of the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Illiadis's ippon against Ukraine's Roman Gontyuk in the gold medal showdown also had ramifications for his love life.
Before the competition, Lia Grigoriadi had only been his girlfriend. Nothing if not confident, the budding judoka put it to her that they should marry if he was able to become Greece's first ever Olympic judo champion.
The rest, of course, is history.
"She was worth much more than the gold medal," said Iliadis.
Judo through the lens
Born into a life of judo, International Judo Federation photographer Jack Willingham goes through his work, picking out his favorite images and explaining why he loves the sport.
"I have been a judo fan all my life," says Willingham. "I was a volunteer at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the judo and watched Ilias Iliadis win Olympic gold at 17 years old (I was 16 at the time). So for me, it has been amazing to be able to document the ups and downs of his career so closely. He is one of the most spectacular judokas, when he's on the mat something extraordinary invariably happens! He is also one of my favorite judoka of all time. I have two shots of him that I particularly like. This is at the 2011 World Championships in Paris, which he would go on to win to become a double world champion. In the semifinal against one of his great rivals Kiril Denisov, he threw with this incredible Ura Nage for ippon to put him into the final."
"Not such an historic moment, but one of my favorite action shots ever. Both men clear of the mat, in mid air, this is Iliadis throwing Noel Van T End with Uchi Mata to win the 2014 Dusseldorf Grand Prix."
Maljinda Kelmendi has been one of the most dominant judokas on the planet over the last four years," says Willingham. "This is partly thanks to the efforts of the International Judo Federation and its president Marius Vizer, who recognized Kosovo as a nation on the judo circuit. The International Olympic Committee accepted Kosovo into the Games in time for Rio 2016, allowing her to become the first ever Olympic gold medalist from that country. This shot is her leaving the tatami after the Olympic final, completely overcome with emotion, her coach Driton Kuka in the background, also with tears in his eyes."
"The second shot I am proud of as it's IOC president Thomas Bach awarding Kelmendi her medal. Once again it's historic, but I also took a risk and snuck around to the side to see both of their faces and managed to find a gap between two of the medal hostesses to get the exact shot I wanted. This also meant I'm sure I'm the only person in the world with this image!"
Hailing from Cidade de Deus -- featured in the award-winning film the City of God -- Rafaela Silva is another judoka that boasts an amazing story. Here she is celebrating becoming world champion in Rio in 2013.
"This is effectively the same shot as the previous one, when she won Brazil's first gold medal at the Rio Olympics! Although not quite the same angle, I loved the symmetry."
"I have a great friendship with Kayla Harrison, so for her to pick me out and strike a pose as she won her second Olympic title in Rio was really cool. She's a great character, and probably the most determined and mentally tough athlete I've come across."
This image is in because I love working in Paris. The iconic Bercy Stadium (as it was called then) has the best public, atmosphere and energy of any tournament in the world. This picture is France's David Larose celebrating after winning the Paris Grand Slam in 2013. I love the story it tells: Larose ecstatic standing over a distraught Davaadorj Tumurkhuleg, the scoreboard reading ippon and the crowd going mad.
"This throw from the -90kg final of the 2012 Tokyo Grand Slam final by former world champion Lee Kyu Won against Masashi Nishiyama to me really shows how much drive with the legs Lee needs to finish the throw off. I love the expression on his face, I love the flailing arms of Nishiyama trying to scramble to avoid the inevitable, there's so much in this one. It is one my favorites on image alone but, for me, it holds a special place in my heart because 2012 was the first time I had ever been to Japan, the home of judo, and it was my first visit to the legendary Tokyo Grand Slam. So to come away with such a great shot made it all the more special."
"This is a portrait of Olympic and double world champion Kaori Matsumoto. One of the most feared athletes in women's judo, her nickname is the assassin. This is her waiting to come out to fight in the Tokyo Grand Slam final. I love the intensity and the focus this image portrays."
Shohei Ono is now an Olympic and double world champion at -73kg. But in 2013, he had none of those titles. This is him throwing France's Ugo Legrand for ippon in the 2013 World Championship final to become world champion for the first time. If I could choose only one picture to define my career, it would be this. Legrand is so perfectly vertical, which you rarely see in judo... let alone in a world championship final. This was the birth of a legend.
"This shot is in for a number of reasons. Teddy Riner is now unquestionably the greatest judoka of all time. Double Olympic and nine-time world champion (he's going for his tenth in November), so he had to be in my list for that. This is also in Paris, in front of his home crowd at the Grand Slam. It's a massive Uchi Mata (one of judo's classical techniques) and it's not all that often you see the men in the +100kg (some of them upwards of 150kg) launched so high and with such precision."
Flagbearer
Four years later in Beijing, while the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps readied themselves for the 2008 Games opening ceremony, the first athlete to enter the Bird's Nest stadium was a grinning Georgian-Greek judoka.
Iliadis recalls feeling weak at the knees when he was told he'd be Greece's flagbearer -- an honor that means leading not only one country, but the whole world's athletes, as per Olympic tradition.
Unfortunately, his stay in the Chinese capital was somewhat short-lived -- Iliadis injuring his knee in randori (free practise) and subsequently exited the tournament after his first bout against former Sydney 2000 Olympic champion, Mark Huizinga.
Iliadis stepped up to the middleweight category (-90kg) as he got older.
He was no longer the precocious newcomer by the time London 2012 came around, but he wasn't ready to walk away yet.
A narrow quarterfinal defeat to Russia's Kiril Denisov meant Iliadis wasn't able to reach the gold medal match, but he fought valiantly through the repechage to secure bronze -- dedicating it to the Greek people enduring financial hardship back home.
It was to be his last appearance of note on the Olympic stage -- Rio 2016 ending in disappointment -- but Iliadis continued to rack up numerous titles on the IJF World Tour, the highlight a third and final World Championship title in Chelyabinsk in 2014.
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In all, he has won more major honors on the IJF World Tour than all other Greek judoka put together.
Ilias Iliadis -- a true legend of judo.