Lefteris Petrounias Wins Bronze to Take Home Third Olympic Medal in Paris

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Lefteris Petrounias Wins Bronze to Take Home Third Olympic Medal in Paris

August 4, 2024

Eleftherios Petrounias, of Greece, competes during the men's artistic gymnastics individual rings finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

PARIS – Greek gymnast Lefteris Petrounias on Sunday added a third Olympic medal to his total, coming third to win the bronze in the men’s rings event in Paris with a score of 15,100 points.

At age 33, this makes Petrounias the first Greek gymnast to win three Olympic medals and the first athlete of all time, worldwide, in the medals rankings for the specific event. Petrounias had won a gold medal in the men’s rings in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021.

The gold and silver medals during men’s rings at the Bercy Arena in Paris were won by Chinese athletes Liu Yang (15,300 points) and Zou Jingyuan (15,233 points), respectively.

The bronze medal won by Petrounias on Sunday is the seventh Olympic medal in the history of Greek gymnastics, following the gold and silver medals won by Dimosthenis Tabakos in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, respectively, a gold medal won by Ioannis Melissanidis in the Atlanta Games in 1996, and the team bronze medal won by the Greek ensemble in 2000.

Clearly moved, Lefteris Petrounias tries to realize the bronze medal in Paris that made him the only athlete in the world with three medals in the rings in as many Olympic Games. Photo.

PM congratulates ‘Lord of the Rings’ Petrounias

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday congratulated Greek gymnast Lefteris Petrounias on winning the bronze medal in the men’s rings event in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, making him the first athlete to win three Olympic medals in the specific event.

“The ‘Lord of the Rings’ has done it again! Sensational Lefteris Petrounias is a bronze medallist. He thus becomes the first athlete in the history of the event to win a third Olympic medal,” the prime minister said in a post on social media. “Our warmest congratulations. You make us proud. We thank you,” Mitsotakis added.

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