1. Ioannis Melissanidis is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise.
17 Facts About Ioannis Melissanidis
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Ioannis Melissanidis was the first Greek gymnast ever to medal at the World Championships.
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Ioannis Melissanidis was named one of the 1996 Greek Male Athletes of the Year.
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When Ioannis Melissanidis was 2 years old, his family returned to Thessaloniki, which he considers his hometown.
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Ioannis Melissanidis began training gymnastics and classical ballet at the age of 9 and a half.
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Ioannis Melissanidis's 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.
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At his first Junior European Championships in 1991 Ioannis Melissanidis placed a modest 18th in the all-around, but earned a bronze medal on the floor exercise, placing ahead of future World Champions Ivan Ivankov and Yordan Yovchev.
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However, at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ioannis Melissanidis won the floor exercise gold medal with a score of 9.850.
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Ioannis Melissanidis continued competing after 1996, winning the vault title at the 1998 European Championships in Saint Petersburg.
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Ioannis Melissanidis represented Greece at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, but, struggling with injury, competed only on vault and high bar.
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Ioannis Melissanidis has one vault named after him in the Code of Points; the Yurchenko double back in tuck position.
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In 1996, Ioannis Melissanidis publicly came out as a gay man.
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In recent years, Ioannis Melissanidis has been active in various social and athletic causes.
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Ioannis Melissanidis is a supporter of Greenpeace, and, in 2003, publicly supported the Melina Mercouri Foundation's campaign to return the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum to Greece.
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Ioannis Melissanidis was one of the torchbearers in the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Athens.
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Ioannis Melissanidis was an invited guest of the 2008 Olympic competition in China and toured Chinese universities as an International Olympic representative.
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In 2017, Ioannis Melissanidis was selected by ANT1 to be a judge on the show So You Think You Can Dance.