Interview: Already legendary, Petrounias continues to write history

A man that doesn’t even need an introduction: Elefterios Petrounias, the Greek Lord of Rings!

European, World and Olympic Champion, an inspiration in Greece and in the entire gymnastics community, superstar, family man and great ambassador for our sport, Petrounias took the time to talk to European Gymnastics about the fabulous year he had in 2024, his values and motivation, and, of course, his plans for the future. Enjoy!

“After Tokyo [in] 2021, it was a big bet for me because I had a big surgery again, and I didn’t have [the usual] 3,5 years till Paris, I had only 2,5 to do the rehabilitation and come back at the highest level before the qualifications for the Olympics which was in Antwerp [2023 World Championships]. I needed a top level and very clean routine in order to secure the ticket for Paris. So I had a lot of work to do. We set that goal immediately after the Tokyo Olympics. Antwerp came and everything went well. We got the ticket, in a rough final because only Liu Yang was already qualified, the others not. I felt the pressure with so many athletes trying to get that ticket. When I got that ticket, the road to Paris started. Of course, I was just behind Liu Yang in Antwerp so the goal for Paris was to be on the podium and at the same time beat Liu Yang,” Petrounias remembers with a big smile, quickly sharing his appreciation for Yang. “[Yang] is a great competitor, a great athlete, and a great rings worker, maybe my biggest opponent of all time. He made me better. I think I made him better. That’s what he said after the podium in Paris.”

At the 2024 European Championships in the Italian coastal town of Rimini, Petrounias could write his name in the history books once again. Before the event, he already held the record of most European titles on an apparatus, 6 on rings, tied with Hungarian legend Krisztian Berki, who has 6 pommel horse titles under his belt.

“My coach and I had the goal to break the record, winning 7 gold medals. It happened, it was magic for me because history was written and that can never be taken back. It was also a hard final. There was the reigning European Champion Adem Asil, who is a great athlete, not only on rings, in total he is amazing, and many others. The level was really high. You could see the pressure, I think no one stuck the dismount. It was so close, everyone was in the same readiness phase for the Olympics, around 80 – 90% ready for the highest level. You couldn’t be 100% yet otherwise you’d be burned out by Paris. You couldn’t be 60% either as you wouldn’t get any results then. The gap was very tight! I was fully motivated and so proud for that result.”

Watching from the stands in Rimini were three very special people: wife, and fellow gymnastics star, Vasiliki Millousi and daughters Sofia and Eleni.

With just three months between the Europeans in Rimini and the Olympic Games in Paris, there wasn’t much rest possible. “I stayed 3, 4 days in Italy after the Europeans with my family. We went to Florence and San Marino. I went to Belgium for a preparation camp with the Belgian guys, with Glen [Cuyle] who is a very good rings worker, and a future star I think. Back in Athens I said to Vasiliki, my wife, I love you, I love my family and my kids and I’m here for you, but -for now- only when it’s important. Now I have two months. If you want me to be on the podium, you have to help me, I need to have less things to do, only training. I was alone in the national team center as everyone was on holiday. It was super hot, 35 – 40 degrees. I did two training sessions and performed a competition routine almost daily, for more than a month. It was a rough period. Sometimes my teammates or my wife came to watch my routine, to motivate me and give me more energy. I was really alone: my coach, my physio and me, that’s it. Just routine, cleaning, routine, executing … repeat. It was a long period for me, luckily nothing serious happened. The time for the Olympics came and I was super ready.”

Ready to rock in Paris, his third Olympics, Petrounias elaborates: “After Rimini, all eyes in the world focused on Paris. It went well although I tried to get better points, a better place on the podium. But I cannot complain of course. I won my third Olympic medal in a row which never happened on rings before. I’m happy with that. When I came back from Paris, I said to my coach ‘It’s over’. The next competition will be in 2026. He said he would agree with whatever I decided. So I went on holiday. After the second week of relaxing, sipping my cocktail, sunbathing, playing with my kids, we went to an island in Crete that had a good gym. On the third day, my kids fell asleep for their daily afternoon nap so I went to the gym, lifting some weights. The day after the same, the day after also. My wife said ‘Really? You relaxed only 10 days!’. When it was time to return home, I called my coach and told him he had one more week before we start training again. We started easy training in September, and in December we were already training elements for Europeans. It’s in our blood. It makes me content. I know the end of the tunnel is not far so I want to enjoy it. I have no major injuries. I do one big training session for 3 to 4 hours, no more double trainings."

Competing in three Olympics surely has a similar approach each time, yet with big differences in preparation: “It was totally different. In Rio I didn’t have a family. But at the same time I was preparing for the Games together with Vlasios Maras and my wife Vasiliki. We had training the three of us. Not many athletes but we were working as a team. And of course I didn’t have kids which is very important for sleep, for your mindset. Maybe you’re a professional athlete, when you’re a parent this comes before everything, it never completely leaves your mind, except maybe the 50 seconds of competing only, maybe! When I’m in training, my phone is next to me. If the school rings, I’m ready to drop everything and go to the school. Tokyo was also different because of covid. I don’t know if any athlete actually felt to Olympic spirit. The organisation was amazing, but it was definitely not a celebration and this was hard for the athletes. We are dreaming, waiting and working for that celebration. All year, every year, we compete every few months, but the Olympics is different. Every athlete expects to live that dream of being in the Olympics, in the village, hanging out with and meeting all the other athletes. This didn’t happen in Tokyo. For me personally, it was a disaster because my shoulder collapsed on the second day after arrival. The only thing I want to remember is that I won the bronze medal. Let’s forget everything else.”

The best stories in sport often feature a great rivalry. Petrounias knows all about that, going head-to-head with Chinese superstar Liu Yang for a decade already: “Unfortunately Liu Yang is not a great speaker of the English language but I know that he respects me, and I respect him. A lot. At the Olympics, we have press conferences with translators so that was good for me to get to know him a bit more. He is such a polite guy. He respects all athletes, and me as an opponent. I pleased him after Paris by continuing to train and compete. I asked him ‘So, now what’ and he said he didn’t know. I told him that I do know, I will continue so he should continue as well. He said he’d consider it, if I will continue. Please you should but inside my head I thought please you should because I want to beat you. If I’m hunting him, I’m getting better. Of course my life will not change dramatically if I’m a silver medallist or a gold but it’s about the hunting. He was hunting me for a long time: 2015, 2016, 2017. Now I’m hunting him. It’s a good chase. I’m making him better, he makes me better as well. My gold medal in Paris was watching him nervously playing with his tracksuit zip as I stuck my dismount, which he didn’t.”

Petrounias loves seeing these rivalries take shape on the competition floor as he acknowledges the beautiful consequences: ““Look at Max Whitlock! Would Rhys [McClenaghan] from Ireland be that good, if there wasn’t Max Whitlock? He’s a legend on pommel horse. He changed the mentality, the way of working on pommel horse. Many athletes, including Rhys, wouldn’t be on that level without him. You could see the respect of the other athletes when he missed out on the [Olympic] podium. I was hoping so much that he would be on the podium. Every athlete needs someone that drives you. If you remember what Roger Federer wrote for Rafael Nadal[‘s retirement], this is what sports is all about. This is sport’s beauty!”

With a career spanning over a decade at the highest level, Petrounias has some words of wisdom to share: “The most important thing in sports, and in life, is to set goals and to achieve them. That’s what I’m proud of. If you look back, 10 years ago, I would not even dream that I could be in this place right now and talking about the record 7 European titles. I’m proud of this, I’m proud that my kids saw this, that they learn from their father about setting goals. I’m trying to be a good example for my kids and for all of the kids in Greece. It’s really important, saying I’m going to make it happen, and work until it has happened.”

So what’s on the planning this year for the 34-year-old? “We have Euros and I’m dreaming of the eighth gold medal which is a good goal for me”, Petrounias explains. “Then there is Jakarta, the World Championships. I think this year there are no easy predictions. The Codes has changed, I don’t know what the other gymnasts will do. I’m waiting to see them in the first World Cup [events] just to understand where I am, and to see what difficulties they are performing. I’m waiting to see them before setting my goals. And I need to see how the judges react to my new routine. There are major changes in my routine! If my level is similar to my competitors, and the judges react well to the changes, then of course the goal is the eighth gold medal. And to be on the podium in Jakarta, on the best place of the podium! I’ll need a competition before Worlds, a Challenge Cup maybe. I’m thinking about Bercy as I love that arena, it’s the Olympic arena. I’m not sure yet which competition I’ll do before Europeans.”

And, what about the next Olympic Games, in Los Angeles in 2028?