Gymnast Arthur Zanetti, gold medalist at the London Olympics, in the United Kingdom, in 2012, announced, this Sunday (12), his retirement as a professional athlete. The 34-year-old native of São Paulo, most of whom spent time in sport, will continue to be involved in the sport, now as a gymnastics coach in São Caetano do Sul (SP), where he was born and lives.
Before the Games in Paris, France, last year, Zanetti already said that this would be the last Olympic cycle of his career. In a report from Brazil Agency published in June 2023, whose interview was also shown on the program Stadiumfrom the TV Brasilthe now former gymnast reported that, after 16 years of training and competing at high intensity, “sometimes the mind wants to do [o movimento]but the body ends up not responding.” Another reason, according to the São Paulo native, was to spend more time with his son, Liam, who turns five in 2025.
Due to injuries, Zanetti missed important events in the Paris cycle, such as the World Cup in Antwerp, Belgium, and the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, both in 2023. The final injury was an acute rupture of the biceps tendon. distal part of the left arm, in May last year, when he was still looking for a place in the Games in the French capital.
His retirement brought tributes from sports personalities. The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, Marco Antônio La Porta, said that Zanetti “is proof that it is possible, that we can get there with a lot of training, dedication and talent” and that it will be a privilege to have him “in the formation of great citizens and new champions” as a coach.
The Greek Eleftherios Petrounias, Zanetti’s great opponent, also spoke out. On Instagram, the three-time world champion gymnast and gold medalist on the rings at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, stated that the São Paulo native made him “a better athlete, a better person”, that he believes he has a great friend in Brazil and that he should think the same. Petrounias also said that the Brazilian will always have his “respect and friendship”.
In addition to the gold in London, the first for Brazilian gymnastics at the Olympics, Zanetti was silver at Rio 2016, also on the rings. At the Tokyo Games, in Japan, in 2021, he tried to perform a presentation that would guarantee him a place on the device’s podium, without being successful. He also won four medals at World Championships, one gold in the Antwerp edition in 2013 and three silver medals.
Gymnast Arthur Zanetti (D) is silver in the rings in a final won by the Greek Eleftherios Petrounias (C), with the Russian Denis Abliazin (E) in third – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
