Eleftherios Petrounias, the Greek “Lord of the Rings,” has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games two years after a severe operation on his shoulder.
This was the eighth and final event of the 2018-2021 Apparatus World Cup Series, held this weekend in Doha, Qatar, and it was to determine the fate of some of the top specialists in the world vying for Tokyo Olympic berths
Eleftherios Petrounias of (Greece) had not yet qualified for Tokyo. Liu Yang from China had led the rankings coming into this event, and the pressure was on Petrounias. To win the rings final in Doha, he needed a score of 15.333 or higher to overtake Liu and earn the qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Petrounias did this and won Gold with a tremendous 15.500 points. 2012 Olympic gold medalist Arthur Zanetti came second, and Ahmad Kohani of Iran won the bronze.
Besides having been world champion and European champion five times each, Petrounias is also a gold medallist at the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
He received several congratulations in Doha on social media from Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias and Alternate Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis, Sports Deputy Minister Lefteris Avgenakis, and the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
After his win, Petrounias thank his team and everyone who was on this journey with him.
Αυτή είναι η μαγεία του Πρωταθλητισμού λοιπόν!
Από την "κόλαση στον παράδεισο".
Ένας γολγοθάς χρόνων τελείωσε με τον καλύτερο τρόπο.
Φύγαμε για Τόκιο! Ευχαριστώ την ομάδα μου και όλους εσάς που είστε δίπλα μου σε αυτή την διαδρομή!#πετρουνιας#roadtotokyo #hellas #petrounias pic.twitter.com/mJfB1UXPS8— Petrounias Eleftherios (@Petrounias_E) June 25, 2021
