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 1996 Olympic floor exercise champion Ioannis Melissandis is poised to make his comeback to international competition Friday at the FIG Challenger Cup in Osijek, Croatia. Pictured: Yann Cucherat (France) 1996 Olympic floor exercise champion Ioannis Melissandis is poised to make his comeback to international competition Friday at the FIG Challenger Cup in Osijek, Croatia. Melissanidis, who turned 35 in February, is returning from a 10-year competitive absence. He is scheduled to compete on vault, though fans will have to wait to see if he will attempt the Yurchenko double back named after him in 2000. Melissanidis has been contemplating a comeback for some time, with an eye on smaller competitions like the one in Osijek.  "I have never stopped being a gymnast," he told a Greek sports website in 2011. "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." The latest Osijek lineup consists of 165 gymnasts representing 38 nations on five continents. Most of the top European females are skipping the event due to the proximity of the women's continental championships, May 9-13 in Brussels, but several notable gymnasts will be on hand, including Argentina's Valeria Pereyra, Australia's Larrissa Miller, Canada's Christine Lee, Greece's Vasiliki Millousi, Poland's Marta Pihan-Kulesza and Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber. Some of the top European men, however, will be taking advantage of the Osijek opportunity to warm up for their European championships, May 21-27 in Montpellier. Yann Cucherat (France), Daniel Keatings (Great Britain), Eleftherios Kosmidis (Greece), Krisztian Berki (Hungary), Alexander Shatilov (Israel), Mitja Petkovsek (Slovenia) and Nikolai Kuksenkov (Ukraine) are among the many world and European championship medalists on the roster. The Americas are well-represented with standouts Diego Hypolito and Arthur Zanetti (Brazil), Tomas Gonzalez (Chile) and Daniel Corral (Mexico), as well as gymnasts from Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Two gymnasts from Ecuador were late additions to the competition, after the FIG requested that Osijek organizers accept their entries after the deadline. Melissanidis is not the only gymnast returning to international competition in Osijek. Slovenia's Aljaz Pegan, who turns 38 in June, is back after a lengthy absence. 2008 U.S. champion David Sender, who rejoined the U.S. national team in February, is making his comeback after retiring in 2009. Competition begins Friday with qualification, followed by two days of finals. External Link: Official Website 2012 Osijek Grand Prix/FIG Challenger Cup
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Alison Clements
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... I'm absolutely thrilled that Aljaz Pegan is making a return. Always such an exciting gymnast. Good luck Aljaz! |
