“Greeks have the strength to achieve anything,” said gold medal winner Eleftherios Petrounias about his triumph in the men’s rings finals in the Rio Olympics.
Petrounias spoke to Realfm 97.8 after becoming the second Greek to win a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Olympic champion dedicated the medal to his mother and late father. He actually cut the interview short because he wanted to run and hug his mother Sophia who was watching him from the stands.
“I will be quick because my mom Sophia is waiting. Everything went well; all is well that ends well. The dream came true and us Greeks show that we have the strength to achieve anything. We don’t worry about the difficulties, we don’t worry about anything, we are here and we are strong,” Petrounias said proudly.
“My whole life passed before my eyes when I was on the podium. I was thinking of my father and my mother. My father up in heaven and my mother up on the grandstand,” he said.
On his performance on the rings, Petrounias said that, “I realized that I will have a good score. My performance was very good. I was pretty sure, I had the confidence that things would come as they should. It was very difficult for (silver medallist Arthur) Zanetti to reach such a high score and I was very optimistic.”
Finally, the Olympic champion said that it will take a while before his glorious win sinks in. “I have not realized it yet, because I was on anti-doping (test) and I should go see my mother. I thank you and I love you and all Greeks,” Petrounias concluded.
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