Μake us preferred on Google Greek Olympic champion Lefteris Petrounias won bronze in the still rings final at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb on Friday, earning his 11th European medal on the apparatus.
Petrounias scored 14.366 points to finish third, behind Armenia’s Artur Avetisyan and Russia’s Ilia Zaika, who both scored 14.400. The result was consistent with same-day international coverage of the competition, which had identified Petrounias as one of the leading contenders in the rings final.
Petrounias came close to another European gold but lost ground on his dismount after taking a small step on landing. A score above 14.400 would have been required to finish in the top two, while his routine earned a 5.6 difficulty score and 8.766 for execution.
The 35-year-old entered the final after scoring 14.400 in qualifying, the second-highest mark, and had been seeking a ninth European gold medal on the rings.
Petrounias remains one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the apparatus. He has won multiple European titles on the rings and has established a long-running record of success at continental championships. International Olympic coverage before the Zagreb competition highlighted him among the leading stars of the men’s apparatus finals.
Final standings:
- Artur Avetisyan, Armenia — 14.400
- Ilia Zaika, Russia — 14.400
- Lefteris Petrounias, Greece — 14.366
- Courtney Tulloch, Britain — 14.366
- Vahagn Davtyan, Armenia — 14.000
- Nikita Simonov, Azerbaijan — 14.000
- Artur Sahakyan, Germany — 13.900
- Harry Hepworth, Britain — 12.866
