From Rio to Tokyo and now Paris! The 33-year-old Lefteris Petrounias, a medal collector and king of the rings, has done it again!

The Greek gymnastics champion made history by becoming the first in the sport’s history to win three consecutive Olympic medals on the rings and the only one with 7 European titles. Despite numerous challenges and surgeries, nothing could stop him, and today he brought home Greece’s sixth medal at Paris 2024.

The Thrilling Competition

The first to present their routines were the two Chinese gymnasts. First, Jingyuan Zou and then (gold medalist) Yang Liu, who were the top qualifiers by far.

Both were exceptional, with Zou scoring 15.233, but Liu surpassing him with a score of 15.300, executing his routine with better precision.

Then it was Petrounias’s turn, who was truly remarkable, flawlessly executing his routine and finishing with an incredible dismount. However, the lower difficulty level of his routine (6.3 compared to the Chinese’s 6.4) played a role in his score of 15.100, placing him in 3rd position.

With five more athletes to go, Petrounias knew his only threats were the Frenchman Samir Ait Said and the Turkish 2022 World Champion and 2023 European Champion Adem Asil.

Asil, upon finishing his routine, seemed to realize he had no chance, confirmed by his score of 14.966, leaving Ait Said as the only remaining threat.

The stadium erupted when Ait Said took to the rings, and the crowd was thrilled by his flawless execution. However, with a much lower difficulty score, it was unlikely he would surpass Petrounias.

The seconds waiting for his score felt like an eternity, but when the scoreboard finally displayed 15.000, the Frenchman and the crowd were left in shock, while the Greek delegation’s smiles and emotions overflowed.

Lefteris had worked his magic once again and secured his place in the annals of history.