Vasiliki Millousi has announced her retirement during the World Championships in Doha. She talked about her career and the decision to retire to the Greek media.
Translation from Greek by Evita.
Millousi gave an interview to Gala magazine in which she talked about the time when she was forced to retire at 19 and coming back and how disappointed she was with her fall in Rio:
“I was 5 years old and I saw the whole effort as a game. I was running around and getting up on beam. When I grew up a bit I wanted to take after my older sister and to maybe outshine her. Nobody ever fulfills their dreams, not entirely. Even when you’re the best, there’s more to be desired. This is how athletes are. I wanted to achieve a few more things, but I’m not saying I’m ungrateful for what I actually achieved. When the people who destroyed the national team closed the door on me, they left me hanging. My everyday life changed, my psychology changed and my whole life changed. It’s not easy to deal with the fact that you still have things to offer to the sport, but you are forced to stay out of it. I was 19 years old and considered too old. It was a hard time for me, I figured out what depression was at the time. When I came back I was obstinate and strong, I think it showed given my performance.”
“The thing that I may have missed a bit is being carefree. Being able to sleep without the thought of what time you’ll have to get up in the morning or the thought of the condition your body’s going to be in. Now that my life is changing that’s one of the challenges that I’m having to face: how to take the athlete out of me.”
“I might be wearing leos and gym clothes all day when I’m training, but when I’m not, I’m very feminine. I love fashion, designers, and clothes. You can find dresses, bags, accessories and even heels in my wardrobe. I like taking care of myself and feeling beautiful. I pick my gym clothes and shoes so that I like the way I look. Besides, artistic gymnastics is first and foremost an artistic sport that emits a very strong image. The audience is interested in, aside from the scores, the athletes’ leos, the way their hair is done and the way they present themselves as a whole”.
In her interview with the Star channel, she talked about making the official retirement announcement and disproved the rumors that she is pregnant. She also talked about how hard it is for her to see her boyfriend, Eleftherios Petrounias, push through injuries.
Q: Vasiliki it’s the first time I’m seeing you in the gym and you’re not an active athlete.
A: Yes it’s weird, it’s weird for me too, being here and not training. I went to three Olympic Games, it’s time for someone else to get to go. I had been thinking about it [retiring] and then I typed the post [referring to the announcement of her retirement of Instagram] and I remember it was late at night, I was alone in my room in Doha, the second after I made the post I was like “This was it.” and I started crying. I started crying because I realized that even I wanted to change my mind, I had already announced my retirement. At that moment I just felt empty. I never got over my fall in Rio, I think it was one of the hardest moments in my career, mainly because I had put so much faith in those Games and I wanted that to be my last competition.
Q: The best moment in your career?
A: When I got the ticket to the Olympics after they prevented me from going 12 years ago against my will, that was the biggest satisfaction for me and the best moment of my life. And of course the moment I got the medal at the Olympic test event.
Q: Now I want to go over your relationship with Elefterios Petrounias. Lefteris who is more aggressive compared to you, didn’t he tell you to keep competing for a little while longer?
A: Lefteris is a rationalist and a realist, I think he motivated me to make this decision. Because he knew that if I kept going, I would keep going until the Olympics and if after the 2020 Olympics are done, I would want to try for the next Games, but at some point, I have to move on with my life, to do some other things.
Q: Is the fact that you retired signaling a new chapter for you, perhaps starting a family?
A: At some point, that’s going to happen, but that’s not the reason why I retired. I’m not starting a family right now. Of course I’ll have a family, hopefully, I think it’s a blessing to have a family and it is something that I want, but that’s not why I retired.
Q: The first thought I had when I found out about your retirement is that you guys are getting married.
A: I think it’s the same for a lot of people. People were asking me if I was pregnant and I made it clear that I’m not and that’s not why I’m retiring. I’m not pregnant yet, you’ll find out when I will be.
Q: So you’re not opposed to that?
A: What more can I say? I don’t really like to talk about my private life.
Q: Last time you saw Lefteris compete injured, how did it make you feel?
A: This time was a bit different than other times because I knew how much he was hurting. It was decided that he wasn’t going to be competing, so when he had his time to process that, after he was relieved of all the stress, something changed inside him and he decided he wasn’t going to give up and that he was going to try to compete. He’s crazy, there’s no way, he doesn’t ever like to lose and he’s proven that. In my eyes, the strength he showcased in Doha, even though I know he’s a very strong person, made him even greater.
Q: What was the first thing you guys said to one another after the surgery?
A: He was tired, anxious, from the anesthesia, it wasn’t a particularly good first reaction he had, but after a bit, he went back to normal. He feels a huge responsibility to everyone, he competes 70% for the people and 30% for himself, for his coach, for his job. His priority is to go back to training as quickly as possible to start preparing for his next competition, not so much his health. His mom and I keep reminding him that his health comes first, we’ll figure out the rest, but he’s set on his goals, that’s why he is who he is.
Q: I’m sure that inside the house, you run after him, don’t do this, don’t do that, because he can’t keep still.
A: I don’t run after him, he wants to do everything himself, but the doctor won’t allow that. He can’t accept that he needs help, so because he’s headstrong he does things he shouldn’t do. People come to hug him and everyone pats him on the shoulder, the one he had surgery on and I’m like “No, please don’t do that.” So to the people that approach him lovingly, please be a bit careful.
