Slovenia's Mitja Petkovsek has become the first gymnast in history to
gather over 1,000 points in World Cup rankings, the International Federation of
Gymnastics (FIG) said yesterday.
Petkovsek tops the rankings on the parallel bars with 1,016.34 points, the
official Slovenian news agency STA reported.
The Slovenian ace, the reigning European and world champion on parallel bars,
is way ahead of Yann Cucherat of France in second place at 461.56 points.
Olympic champion Li Xiaopeng of China is third with 453.05.
"Wow, I really didn't know that," Petkovsek said when told he was the first
gymnast ever to score the "perfect 1,000". "I'm really happy and proud to
achieve something like that. This is crazy, crazy!" the 31-year-old, who is
currently nursing an injured finger, told STA.
Another Slovenian, Aljaz Pegan, is leading the rankings on the horizontal bar
after the end of the World Cup season with 714.12, ahead of Fabian Hambuechen of
Germany (479.65) and Greek Vlasios Maras (411.36).
While Petkovsek is injured, Pegan is preparing for the season finale on Dec.
13 and 14 in Madrid.
"I'm very happy that I have managed to stay in the first place in FIG
rankings for more than two years. It is not easy to be on the top all the time,"
he said, promising to give his best in Madrid to defend the top spot.
