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Ioannis Melissanidis

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Ioannis Melissanidis
Ioannis Melissanidis in 2017
Personal information
Full nameIoannis Melissanidis
Country represented Greece
Born (1977-03-27) March 27, 1977 (age 47)
Munich, West Germany
HometownThessaloníki, Greece
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
ClubSpartacus
Eponymous skillsMelissanidis vault
Medal record
Artistic Gymnastics
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Floor exercise
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1994 Brisbane Floor exercise
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Prague Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place 1998 St. Petersburg Vault
Silver medal – second place 1998 St. Petersburg Floor exercise
European Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Patras Team

Ioannis Melissanidis (Template:Lang-el; born March 27, 1977) is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise. He was also the 1994 European Champion on floor and the first Greek gymnast ever to medal at the World Championships.

Early life and career

Melissanidis was born in Munich, Germany to parents Evaggelos and Aikaterini, Greek nationals who were working in Germany. He has two siblings, Maria and Spiros. When Melissanidis was 2 years old his family returned to Thessaloniki, which he considers his hometown.[1][2]

Melissanidis began training gymnastics and classical ballet at the age of 9 and a half. His parents were not originally supportive of the idea, and, according to Melissanidis, only relented and took him to the Spartakos Thessaloniki gymnastics club after he refused to eat for two days.[1]

At his first Junior European Championships in 1991 Melissanidis placed a modest 18th in the all-around,[3] but earned a bronze medal on the floor exercise, placing ahead of future World Champions Ivan Ivankov and Yordan Yovchev.[4] Two years later, in 1993, he won the floor title at Junior Europeans and placed third on the vault.[5]

In 1994, his first year competing as a senior, Melissanidis enjoyed success on the world stage. He won the floor exercise title at the 1994 European Championships in Prague. At the 1994 World Championships he tied with Great Britain's Neil Thomas for the silver medal on floor. With this win, Melissanidis became the first Greek gymnast, male or female, to medal at the World Championships. Melissanidis' fortunes changed after 1994: at the 1995 and 1996 Worlds he did not qualify for a single event final.[6]

However, at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Melissanidis was the surprise winner of the floor exercise gold medal, winning the event with a score of 9.850. The win marked the first Olympics gymnastics medal for Greece since 1906.

Melissanidis continued competing after 1996, winning the vault title at the 1998 European Championships in Saint Petersburg. He represented Greece at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but, struggling with injury, competed only on vault and high bar.[7][8] In 1996, Melissanidis publicly came out as gay. [9]

Skills

Melissanidis has two vaults named after him in the Code of Points; both are variations of the Yurchenko double back.[8] In the current Code of Points, his vaults carry A-score difficulty ratings of 5.2 and 5.6.[10]

Post-retirement

In recent years, Melissanidis has been active in various social and athletic causes. He is a supporter of Greenpeace,[1] and, in 2003, publicly supported the Melina Mercouri Foundation's campaign to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.[11] A gymnastics hall in his hometown of Thessaloníki has been named in his honor.[12] He was also one of the torchbearers in the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Athens.[13]

As of 2008, he was a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. He was also an invited guest of the 2008 Olympic competition in China and toured Chinese universities as an International Olympic representative.

In 2017, Melissanidis was selected by ANT1 to be a judge on the show So You Think You Can Dance.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Melissanidis Ioannis : C'est l'histoire d'un grec ou la passion selon Ioannis" Archived 2005-12-16 at the Wayback Machine French Gymnastics Federation, 1999 (in French)
  2. ^ "Profile at the Association of Hellenic Olympic Winners". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  3. ^ AA Results from 1991 Jr. European Championships from Gymn-Forum
  4. ^ EF Results from 1991 Jr. European Championships from Gymn-Forum
  5. ^ EF Results from 1993 Jr. European Championships on Gymn-Forum
  6. ^ "Melissanidis is perfect for Greece" Christoper Clarey, New York Times, July 29, 1996
  7. ^ "Results from 2000 Olympics at Gymn-Forum". Archived from the original on 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  8. ^ a b "Melissanidis injured" International Gymnast, September 3, 2000
  9. ^ "Gay Greek Olympian Takes to the Stage to Benefit the Special Olympics". WEHOville. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Revision of the vault difficulty values"[permanent dead link‍] MAG Technical Committee, International Gymnastics Federation, May 18–19, 2006
  11. ^ "Melissanidis on New Mission" International Gymnast October 15, 2003
  12. ^ "Romanian Men Best of Four in Thessaloniki" Stelios Karaoglandis, International Gymnast, April 1, 2008
  13. ^ History of the 2004 Olympics Archived 2008-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Beijing 2008 official website
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