Marios Giannakos carried Eleftheria, a 22-year-old handicapped student from Drama, on his back until they reached the top of Mt Olympus in order to help her fulfil her dream.

“When we got to the pinnacle, she asked me to help her see the view – so I turned her around in a complete circle so that she could see Greece from its highest point,” he told the Athens Macedonian News Agency.

“It was the best and most important struggle of my life, and the best thing I’ve done as a human being ever.”

Mr Giannakos carried Eleftheria in a specially-made backpack and climbed with an eight-member support crew. They reached a refuge at 2,400 m, where they spent the night before setting off at 6am on Monday for Mt Mytikas, Olympus’ highest peak (2,918m). They arrived around 09:02 am.

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Giannakos said he had checked the route out two days ago, and he thanked the support crew, which included police officers, deep diving specialists and trainer Dionyssis Petridis.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated the two through an online chat with the endurance runner and the young woman, who is studying at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.

“It was a fantastic idea, and we are very happy you implemented it,” Mr Mitsotakis said while they were still at the base, wishing them a safe completion of their return.