Greek Olympic and Mediterranean taekwondo medallist Alexandros Nikolaidis has died at 42 after fighting a rare form of cancer for more than two years.

In a moving message he wrote before he died that was released on Friday he explained how nut carcinoma took his life:

“For two years, I was also tortured by cancer. I had a rare type of cancer, nut carcinoma, that currently nine out of ten Greek doctors who read this message, are probably hearing it for the first time and will rush to look it up.”

Nikolaidis won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics held in Athens after losing to Moon Dae-Sung of South Korea in the gold medal match. On March 24, 2008 Alexandros Nikolaidis had the honor to be the first torch-bearer of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nikolaidis won another Olympic silver medal in the +80 kg category.

He carried the flag for Greece during the Parade of Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In the Mediterranean Games of 2013 in Mersin Nikolaidis ended his great carrier with the silver medal in the +80 category.

ICMG President David Tizzano and Secretary General Iakovos Filippousis send their condolences to the family and to the Hellenic Olympic Committee.