The Greek gymnastics champion made history as he became the first in the history of the event to win three medals, consecutively in the Olympic Games, and the only one with 7 European titles… And all this while he has faced numerous difficulties with surgeries, but nothing was able to bring him down, and today he brought the 5th medal for Greece in Paris 2024.
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The amazing competition
The first to present their routine were the two Chinese athletes. Initially, Jingyuan Zhou, followed by (gold medalist) Yang Liu, who were the top performers in the qualifiers by a wide margin.
Both were excellent, with the first scoring 15.233, but the second surpassed him, scoring 15.300 (executing his routine better in the details).
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Then it was Petrounias’ turn, who was truly stunning, executing his routine flawlessly and making an incredible exit. However, the lower difficulty score in his routine (6.3, compared to the 6.4 of the Chinese) played a role, scoring him 15.100 and putting him in 3rd place.
With five more athletes to go, Petrounias knew that the only ones who could threaten him were the Frenchman Samir Aït Saïd and the Turkish champion of the 2022 World Championship and the 2023 European Championship, Adem Asil.
When the latter completed his routine, it felt as if he knew he had no hope, and the 14.966 confirmed this, with Aït Saïd now being the only threat.
The stadium ignited when Aït Saïd took to the rings; the audience was thrilled with his flawless execution, but with a very low difficulty score, it was very difficult for him to surpass Petrounias…
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The seconds until his score appeared felt like… centuries, but when the bright board finally displayed 15.000, the Frenchman and the audience froze, and the smiles on the faces of the entire Greek delegation were abundant. So was the emotion.
Lefteris had once again performed his miracle and entered the pantheon of history.
Petrounias: I will be in Los Angeles too
Shortly after the final, Lefteris found himself in the mixed zone for his first statements, but before that came the first embrace from his significant other.
His wife Vasiliki Millousi traveled to Paris to see him make history up close, and both teary-eyed celebrated as if it were the first time… However, it certainly won’t be the last, something he clarified at the end of his statements…
What he said after the final in detail:
“I came here to win this medal.. I’ve worked very hard over the past three years. With three European championships, one world championship, one surgery, and many other things happening back in Greece, where I’m no longer 20 years old, I’m 33 and I have responsibilities.
This all makes me happy to be on the podium. We came for a medal, without caring about the routine because something like this has never happened in rings
I made some mistakes on the two verticals; I could have been alongside the first, but it doesn’t matter, the two Chinese are worthy opponents and they make me a better athlete.
If I didn’t have my family, my team, and all of Greece, nothing would have been possible. I can only tell you that all this time I was technically perfect, but today was the first landing where I didn’t step out from the moment I arrived in France. And that is a sign of how much I wanted this.
I enjoyed this whole journey, and I’m glad it ends with a medal. I’m sorry for Samir because he is my friend, and I could have been in his place… Now I can’t wait to return to Greece to my kids.
This was the hardest final as it’s been many years since I entered a final as 6th… The goal was to start first or second in the final, but we didn’t succeed, and it required tremendous psychological management. However, we did it, and the medal came.
Do I have my sights set on Los Angeles? Absolutely, I need a break to devote to my family, but I’m not stopping here. The Armenian who competed today is 37, and if he had a higher difficulty score, he would be competing for a medal. I will be 37 in the next Olympic Games, but I am favored by the new code of gymnastics which reduces two exercises, and I believe I will be able to excel… We will see this year who my opponents are, and we will create an unparalleled program.”
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