Lefteris Petrounias walked into the men's rings final at Rotterdam Ahoy on Saturday as the last-place qualifier and walk...

Lefteris Petrounias walked into the men's rings final at Rotterdam Ahoy on Saturday as the last-place qualifier and walked out with a silver medal. The 35-year-old Greek gymnast scored 14.333, finishing behind China's Lan Xingyu who claimed gold with 14.766. Armenia's Artur Avetisyan took bronze with 14.233, just one-tenth of a point behind Petrounias. The result was far from guaranteed. A landing error in qualifying left Petrounias with 14.033, barely enough to secure the eighth and final spot in the field on October 18. He improved by three-tenths of a point when it mattered most, turning the last qualifying position into a podium finish in what was his eighth world rings final. The silver is his fifth world medal overall, adding to a collection that spans 11 years. Petrounias won world titles in Glasgow in 2015, Montreal in 2017, and Doha in 2018, then took silver in Antwerp in 2023. He finished fifth in Jakarta in 2025 before returning to the podium this weekend in Rotterdam. His Olympic record is equally decorated. He claimed rings gold at Rio 2016, bronze at Tokyo 2021, and bronze again at Paris 2024. Known in Greece as the "Lord of the Rings," Petrounias told reporters after the final that he is still chasing a gold-standard routine and has no intention of stopping. "We're still looking for the gold routine," he said. #Petrounias #GreekGymnastics #WorldChampionships