Petrounias: I feel like a hungry dog

Eleftherios Petrounias underwent shoulder surgery only few days after winning gold on rings at the 2018 Worlds. He gave a first long interview to Kathimerini.gr since his surgery and talked about competing with pain, dealing with the Greek economic crisis and dreaming of going back to competition.

Translated from Greek by Evita.

He misses the rings. It’s almost been five months since his serious shoulder surgery which he underwent for his chronic tendonitis on his left shoulder, and Eleftherios Petrounias is counting the days – if not even the hours – until he’s able to train again. For now he’s been building up strength, his training will start in June and in October, at this year’s Worlds, he will fight for his qualification to the Tokyo Olympics. The return to normalcy and to success, that’s what he craves.

A: For now I’m resting and I feel like a hungry dog seeing and smelling the food that is right in front of it, but [the dog] is chained. You can imagine what’s going to happen once I’m unleashed…

Q: How have these last months been after the surgery?

A: I went through a tough period. From a practical standpoint, too, because for two months I couldn’t do simple everyday things like dressing myself and mentally the thought of coming back to the sport at the same level as I left was nerve-wracking. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to be ungrateful. There are examples of athletes who didn’t even get to compete two or three times and they had to go into surgery. I was lucky enough to not miss a competition. There have been three generations of Russian athletes – from Balandin we got to Nagornyy – most of them have retired and I’m still here.

Q: So are you optimistic about your return?

A: Yes, there are certain reasons that make me optimistic: considering that my surgery was performed by the best surgeon for shoulder injuries, Laurent Lafosse. That my coach Dimitris Raftis is the best coach in the world. The fact that I’m surrounded by people who support me and look after me. So, what the heck could go wrong?

Q: In Glasgow, you had to compete while you were in great pain. How did you pull through?

A: It was long before Glasgow that I had to do that. My shoulder surgery should have happened at the start of 2018 but I kept making up things to buy time. For months, I couldn’t really train, I wasn’t correcting things to evolve and become better, my only guide was the pain. My coach would ask every time that I would get off the rings: “From a scale of 1 to 10 how bad was the pain?”. If it was over a 7, we would stop. I landed in Glasgow with a torn-apart shoulder but I kept telling myself that I was going to be in pain, but I’d make it. And so it happened.

Q: And with that torn-apart shoulder you went into Worlds?

A: It wasn’t certain that I was going to be competing. In October, I announced that I wasn’t going to be competing. And maybe because after the announcement the weight had been lifted off my shoulders, the next day I went in and I trained by myself without my coach knowing. That training session went unbelievably well. When I showed my coach the video of it, we said: “Let’s go to Worlds.”. When I arrived at Doha, a wave hit from foreign media “The World champion has arrived without training. Will he be able to defend his title?”. You can imagine the amount of pressure I was under. When I went out on the competition floor, I was stunned by the number of Greek people in the audience, waving their flags and cheering me on. In that moment, imagining the amount of joy that I was able to give to them, I could had been hit by a bus and I wouldn’t have flinched.

Q: 365 days of non-stop training for a minute, that’s the duration of your routine. Is it worth it?

A: It would be worth it even if it lasted for 15 seconds. Because everything that comes with success is the confirmation that I fought for it and every bad memory is magically wiped away. I felt so full of joy in Doha that I could have ended my career there. Not just for realizing a goal that felt unrealistic but for the support of the people and also, disproving those who fought me and doubted me. What can I say? That a week after surgery they checked for doping and they took a blood sample? But it’s okay, the more they came after me, the more they doubt me, the stronger I get.

Q: Greeks are always generous with athletes after success. If you stop bringing in the same success, what do you think will be the people’s response?

A: I haven’t failed yet, but I’m prepared for it. My family has raised me in a way that I’m level-headed. I know that there’s going to come a time that people are going to turn their backs on me. I’ve seen it happen to a lot of athletes. That’s the fate of an athlete and you have to be prepared for it so that it doesn’t destroy you.

Q: Who is your safe haven? Your family?

A: Before I knew how to read, we would watch foreign movies, my mom would read aloud the subtitles and once the movie was over she’d ask: “What did you understand from what you saw?”. My father would talk politics with me. That’s how I was raised. I’m surrounded by good friends, I’m almost 30 years old and our friendships are going strong. I’m lucky enough to have Vasiliki Millousi by my side. Ever since 2014, she’s been my rock. And things weren’t easy for us, I remember searching our entire house to find some money to get some souvlaki to eat. This family and this partner, these friends give me power and get me off my high horse.

Q: I’ve heard countless people saying that if you were living in another country, you’d be a millionaire. And you’re training in gyms with no heating. What is your country to you? Do you feel wronged?

A: Of course, I feel wronged in comparison to other athletes from other countries and the conditions should be better. But there are hospitals and schools with no heating so my discomfort is the least of our worries. The economic crisis has taken a lot of things away from people. I’m saying that because if not for it, my father could still be alive. If I can make people happy in the least bit, that’s enough for me. From the state, the support has always been meager. Getting the sponsors meant that I had people believing in me enough to invest in me.

Q: Would you want your children to get into sports?

A: I would but maybe not professionally, unless that’s what they want. When I quit gymnastics during my adolescence I told my mom and she didn’t try to change my mind. She respected my decision and when I became 18 I came back. So if my son prefers football and my daughter prefers ballet, then no problem. But I will try to also get them in the gym.

Q: What would you tell a kid dreaming of a career like yours?

A: I would tell it to start gymnastics because that’s how to prepare its body for whichever sport it wants to later choose. To go after its dream, no matter the difficulties. Closed doors are meant to be opened and obstacles are meant to be overcome.