Μake us preferred on Google Greece’s Lefteris Petrounias took the first step toward a record ninth European Championship gold medal on Wednesday, advancing to the rings final at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb.
The 35-year-old Greek gymnast scored 14.400 points after the completion of all three qualifying groups, giving him the second-highest score overall.
Petrounias competed in the second qualifying group and had to wait for the third group to finish before his place in the final was confirmed. Only exceptionally high scores from the final group could have knocked him out, but that scenario did not materialize.
Second-highest qualifying score
Petrounias’ routine carried a difficulty score of 5.600. He received 8.800 points for execution, finishing with a total of 14.400 after a minor step on his landing.
Russia’s Ilia Zaika recorded the highest score, with 14.466 points. His routine had a difficulty score of 5.700 and an execution score of 8.766.
Armenia’s Avetisyan and Davtyan, as well as Russia’s Usachev, also scored above 14.000 points.
Petrounias targets another European title
Petrounias is expected to increase the difficulty of his routine to 5.700 in the final.
A near-perfect performance could give the Greek champion a strong chance of adding another gold medal to his collection. A victory would be his ninth European Championship title and his 11th European medal overall.
The rings final is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. Greece time and will be broadcast by ERT2 Sport.
