Jury Chechi

Jury Chechi
Jury Chechi in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Jury Dimitri Chechi
Nickname(s)	il Signore degli Anelli ("the Lord of the Rings")
Country represented	Italy
Born	(1969-10-11) 11 October 1969 Prato, Italy
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior
Club	SG Etruria Prato
Head coach(es)	Bruno Franceschetti
Retired	2004
Medal record Representing Italy Men's artistic gymnastics Olympic Games File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 Atlanta Rings File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Athens Rings World Championships File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Birmingham Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Brisbane Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Sabae Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 San Juan Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Lausanne Rings File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1989 Stuttgart Rings File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Indianapolis Rings European Championships File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1990 Lausanne Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1992 Budapest Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Praga Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 Copenhagen Rings File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1990 Lausanne All-around File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Budapest Floor Universiade File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Buffalo Team File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Buffalo Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1997 Sicily Rings File:Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1993 Buffalo All-around European Cup File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1988 Firenze Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Bruxelles All-around File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Bruxelles Rings File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Bruxelles Parallel bars File:Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Roma Rings File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1988 Firenze Floor File:Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1988 Firenze Parallel bars

Jury Dimitri Chechi Commendatore OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈjuːri ˈkeːki]; born 11 October 1969) is a retired Italian gymnast.

Biography

Chechi was named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He won the Olympics title in the rings at Atlanta 1996 and was third at Athens 2004. Chechi's bronze was the result of his attempted comeback into the sport at the age of 35, well above what is considered the average age of a male gymnast. Chechi dominated his specialty, the rings, during the nineties, so he was nicknamed "the Lord of the Rings"; however, he could not participate in the Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000 Olympic games due to serious injuries. He has won five gold and two bronze medals at the World Gymnastics Championships and four gold and two bronze medals at the European Championships. Chechi was the Italian flagbearer at the opening ceremony in the Athens Games in 2004. He also participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin. Jury sparked some controversy at the 2004 Athens Olympic games when he shook the hand of silver medalist in the rings final, Yordan Yovchev and signaled that he should have won the gold medal, not Dimosthenis Tampakos (meaning that he won only because he was the local champion). He is an atheist.

Honours of merit

File:Commendatore OMRI BAR.svg 3rd Class / Commander: Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana

— 27 September 2004. Initiative by President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

See also

• Italian men gold medalist at the Olympics and World Championships

External links

• This article has no link in Wikidata
• Official website (in Italian)