Greece's 'Lord of the Rings' Petrounias reaches World Championships Final

After an 11-month injury hiatus, Eleftherios Petrounias is back and competing at the World Championships in Germany, where he has now reached the final of the men’s rings.

Petrounias, who won gold in the men’s rings at every major competition (Olympics, World Championships, European Championships) from 2015 to 2018, had surgery after winning his third consecutive World Championship title last year. He had to miss several competitions this year, including the European Championships where he was the four-time defending champion.

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The leading Greek gymnast made his return to competition after 11 months, taking part in the qualification at the World Championships in Stuttgart. With a score of 14.700, the three-time defending champion finished fourth, thus becoming one of eight gymnasts who will compete in Saturday’s final.

“I promise next Saturday will be even better. There’s no stress, I’m just going to be the old me,” said Petrounias. It must be noted that the event medalists will be guaranteed qualification for the 2020 Olympics, which could make Petrounias the first Greek gymnast to book their ticket to Tokyo.

by Andrew Stamas

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