Eleftherios "Lefteris" Petrounias (, ; born 30 November 1990) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

artistic gymnast. He is the 2016 Olympic champion,

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and

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Olympic bronze medalist, three-time World champion (

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

) and a ten-time (2011, 2015–18, 2021–25) European medalist on the

still rings The rings, also known as still rings (in contrast to flying rings), is an artistic gymnastics apparatus and the event that uses it. It is traditionally used only by male gymnasts due to its extreme upper body strength requirements. Gymnasts ofte ...

(eight gold and two bronze). He was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year, for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Early life and education

Petrounias has a degree in communications and marketing from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Besides gymnastics, he practices

parkour Parkour () is an athletic Training#Physical training, training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment ...

. He takes part in anti-bullying campaigns, as he was bullied himself when he was child due to his small size.

Career

2011–2012

Petrounias' debut major international medal came when he competed at the 2011 European Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, at the age of 20. During the competition Petrounias won the bronze medal on the rings. He scored 15.675 during the final, behind Konstantin Pluzhnikov (15.850) and Aleksandr Balandin (15.775) of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. At the 2012 European Championships Petrounias placed fifth on rings. Throughout the year he won five medals while competing in the 2012 World Cup series.

2013–2016

At the 2013 European Championships Petrounias placed fifth on rings. At the

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 in Mersin, Turkey. Mersin was announced as the host cit ...

he won gold on the apparatus ahead of İbrahim Çolak of Turkey and Javier Gómez Fuertes of Spain. At the 2013 World Championships Petrounias placed ninth during qualifications and did not advance to the final. In early 2014 Petrounias competed at the 2014 European Championships where he placed sixth on rings. Later that year at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

he once again placed sixth on rings. In April 2015, Petrounias competed in the 2015 European Championships in

Montpellier, France Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. At the 2020 census, 299,096 people lived in the ...

. He won gold during the rings final, scoring 15.866 during the final - 0.300 points ahead of tied silver medalists Samir Aït Saïd of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and Denis Ablyazin of

. In June he competed at the inaugural European Games where he won gold on rings ahead of Nikita Ignatyev and Çolak. In late 2015 Petrounias competed in the 2015 World Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He qualified for the rings final in first place, scoring 15.900. During the final, Petrounias won his first World Title on ring with a scored 15.800; You Hao of China was the silver medalist, followed by bronze medalist Liu Yang of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In May 2016, Petrounias attended the 2016 European Championships in

Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. He qualified in first place for the rings final, scoring 15.700. Petrounias was the

Olympic torch relay The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as a way for Adolf Hitler to highlight the Nazi claim of Arya ...

originating torchbearer after its ignition at Olympia on 21 April 2016, and he has a further distinction of being the first Greek gymnast selected in modern Olympics torch relay history. At the 2016 Olympic Games Petrounias won the gold medal on rings ahead of Arthur Zanetti of Brazil and Denis Ablyazin of Russia.

2017–2021

In April 2017, Petrounias competed at the 2017 European Championships at the Polyvalent Hall in

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

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. During the competition Petrounias secured his third European Championship rings title, scoring 15.433 during the final - above silver medalist Courtney Tulloch of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, who scored 15.066, and bronze medalist

Igor Radivilov Igor (Ihor) Vitaliyovych Radivilov (; born 19 October 1992) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast and four-time Olympian, having competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic Games. Although he competed on all apparatuses, he was best known a ...

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, who scored 15.033. In late 2017 Petrounias competed at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal. Petrounias successfully defended his World title on rings, scoring 15.433 during the final - 0.100 points above Denis Abliazin of

, who won silver, and 0.167 points above Liu Yang of

, who won bronze. Petrounias won the gold medal on rings at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

despite a

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injury. At the 2018 World Championships in

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Petrounias successfully defended his title and earned his third World Championship gold on rings with a score of 15.366. Arthur Zanetti, the 2012 Olympic champion on rings, earned the silver and Marco Lodadio earned bronze. Petrounias competed at the

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

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, where he was also the flag bearer of Greek team along with Greek shooter

Anna Korakaki Anna Korakaki (; born 8 April 1996) is a Greek Olympic shooter. Career She represented Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the 25m pistol shot event and a Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol shooting event. The Gold med ...

. He won bronze on rings behind Chinese athletes Liu Yang and You Hao.

2022–2024

At the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

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Petrnounias won his sixth European title on rings, ahead of Adem Asil and Courtney Tulloch. At the 2023 European Championships Petrounias won bronze behind Adem Asil and Vahagn Davtyan. Petrounias competed at the 2023 World Championships in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. He won silver on rings, once again sharing a podium with Chinese athletes Liu and You. As the highest ranking athlete on rings not part of a qualified team, Petrounias qualified as an individual to the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. At the 2024 European Championships Petrnounias won his seventh European title on rings. Petrounias competed at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He won bronze on rings behind Chinese athletes Liu Yang and Zou Jingyuan. In doing so, Petrounias became the first person to win three medals on rings at the Olympic Games.

Personal life

Petrounias has been married to fellow Greek gymnast Vasiliki Millousi since July 2019. They have two daughters, Sofia and Eleni.

Competitive history

References

External links

* * * *
Eleftherios Petrounias
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrounias, Eleftherios 1990 births Living people Greek male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in gymnastics European Games gold medalists for Greece People from Athens World champion gymnasts European champions in gymnastics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Greece Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic gold medalists for Greece Olympic bronze medalists for Greece Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Gymnasts from Athens Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Greek sportsmen