Lord of the Rings (tt.com, 04 Sep 2019; greekcitytimes.com, 06 Nov 2018)

Travelling, driving. (english.ahram.org.eg, 07 Oct 2021)

Athlete

Communications, Marketing - Athens University of Economics and Business: Greece

Wife Vasiliki Millousi, daughters Sofia [2019] and Eleni [2020]

English, Greek

Vasileios Tsolakidis [national], GRE; Theofilos Lalechos [national]; Dimitris Raftis [national]

His wife Vasiliki Millousi represented Greece in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games in 2000, 2012 and 2016. (SportsDeskOnline, 19 Sep 2019; tt.com, 04 Sep 2019)

A persistent shoulder injury initially forced him to withdraw from the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. However, he later reversed his decision and decided to compete. He won gold on rings before having surgery on the problem after the event. His rehabilitation period meant he missed the 2019 European Championships in Szczecin, Poland. (agonasport.com, 10 Apr 2019; greekcitytimes.com, 06 Nov 2018; fig-gymnastics.com, 02 Nov 2018; Instagram profile, 12 Oct 2018)

He took up gymnastics at age five at the Panionios club in Greece.

One of his teachers encouraged his mother to enrol him in the sport to deal with his hyperactivity. "I was very lively and had a tendency to climb everywhere."

To win a second Olympic gold medal. (english.ahram.org.eg, 07 Oct 2021)

He trains for between two and four hours a day.

Winning gold on rings at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (epetrounias.com, 24 Apr 2017)

Greek gymnast Dimosthenis Tampakos, Bulgarian gymnast Jordan Jovtchev. (english.ahram.org.eg, 07 Oct 2021)

"I do not think that there is a magic secret leading to success. Talent is a helpful tool, but success can only come when you work hard and have passion for what you do and patience to keep going." (english.ahram.org.eg, 07 Oct 2021)

He and shooter Anna Korakaki were selected as Greece's flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Eleftherios Petrounias Twitter profile, 01 Jul 2021)

In 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 he was named Greek Sportsman of the Year by the Panhellenic Association of Sports Press [PSAT]. (agonasport.com, 16 Dec 2018, 20 Dec 2016; ego-gymnastics.gr, 22 Dec 2017; gymnastics.gr, 22 Dec 2015)

In April 2016 he carried the Olympic torch in Greece during the first stage of the relay ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 11 Apr 2016)

ANTI-BULLYING
He was bullied about his size when he was a child. "A lot of kids would make fun of me because I was short. Other kids could have fallen down with this and never got up, but I would just do a salto [somersault] and ask them, 'Can you do that?' and then say, 'I can, because I am short'. It was never a problem for me but I can understand that for a lot of kids it could be really tough. So, I am always trying to be at the front of the anti-bullying campaigns in Greece." (fig-gymnastics.com, 02 Jul 2018)

TIME OUT OF THE SPORT
He first got involved in gymnastics at age five, but at age 14 he took a three-year break from the sport. "For many years I was trying to be a good athlete and a good student. I was tired, my body was tired, my elbows were in trouble and I told my mother I wanted to stop. I wanted to see my friends and live like them. Be crazy, ride motorbikes, party, meet girls and have fun. For the next few years, I was just another teenager. One morning [at age 17] I thought about returning to the gym. When I went on the rings, my body remembered and began to operate as if it had never stopped. I was refreshed, stronger." (protothema.gr, 06 Apr 2015; lifo.gr, 24 Apr 2014)