Melissanidis eyes shock comeback
Veteran Olympian Ioannis Melissanidis has told a sports website he is eyeing a shock comeback.
The Atlanta 1996 gold medalist said in an interview with sportingreece.com that he feels he is in great shape and that he is dreaming of a comeback.
“I am still training three hours a day and I am in good shape which is maybe a bad thing because it makes me believe I am still capable of doing it.
“My old coach watched me last week in Athens and says that I am at around 70 percent and that anytime I want to get serious just to give him a call.
“But you know, I have never officially retired. And there is always that desire to compete. It is in the blood. Just as you need water for life, I need gymnastics.”
“I have never stopped being a gymnast. I train every day, I am still on the same diet that I had when I was competing. So I think it could be done.”
The 34-year-old did rule out challenging for the 2012 London Olympics.
“It would be impossible for next year’s Olympics but there are other competitions – European championships, World Cup events, the Mediterranean Games…anything is possible.”
