News Interview: Thiago Minete and Virginia AlvesFresh from having qualified for the Olympic Games, where he could be one of the stars of gymnastics, Eleftherios Petrounias was today flying back from Brazil to his hometown of Athens When he lands, he will get straight in his car and drive 300km to Olympia for a very special occasion: the 25-year-old world champion will be the first person to carry the Olympic flame for the Rio 2016 Games “It’s going to be a 24-hour trip, so I’m going to be super tired, but it’s amazing,” Petrounias told rio2016 com in an exclusive interview at the test event and final Olympic qualifier on Monday (18 April) The road trip may remind Petrounias of another he recently undertook during which received a call from the Hellenic (Greek) Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos, saying that he had been selected for the historical role in Olympia on Thursday (21 April) “I was driving when I heard and I almost crashed,” he said “The Bluetooth was on so I could hear in my car And as a result of being so happy and surprised, I almost crashed my car ”Eleftherios will hand over the torch to Brazilian volleyball legend Giovane Gávio as the Greek leg of the relay gets underway On April 27 the torch will be transported to Lausanne, Switzerland, where it will visit the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) before arriving in Brazil on 3 May for the start of a 90-day tour of the country that will culminate in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the Maracanã Stadium on 5 August Olympic Torch Relay to showcase diverse beauty of BrazilPetrounias (left) took silver at the test event behind Zanetti (centre) and Said (Photo: CBG/Ricardo Bufolin)Having won three major gold medals last year on the rings – at the world championships in Glasgow, the European championships in Montepellier and the European Games in Baku – Petrounias is already something of a celebrity in Greece This is only set to increase and while he was hesitant to accept the tag of “idol” he hopes his new-found fame will have a positive impact “Over the last year I’ve become more famous than before and it’s an honour if I can motivate people and especially kids to do sports,” he said “Greece gave birth to the Olympics and this is the biggest honour that could happen to me – to be the first torch bearer and begin the spirit of the Games”Eleftherios PetrouniasPetrounias confirmed his place at the Rio 2016 Games on Saturday, before finishing second behind Brazil’s Arthur Zanetti – the London 2012 Olympic champion – in the rings finals on Monday, with France’s Samir Ait Said coming third Petrounias was Greece's flag bearer at the Baku 2015 European Games (Photo: Getty Images/Francois Nel)The battle between Zanetti, who is among the candidates to carry the Brazil flag at the opening ceremony, and Petrounias is likely to be one of the highlights of the Rio 2016 gymnastics competition However, the Greek stressed that their rivalry is friendly and even expressed his desire that Zanetti be the final torchbearer who lights the Olympic cauldron “I would help him if he needed and I think he would do the same for me” Petrounias on his friendship with Zanetti“It’s a big individual competition but it’s my honour to be so close with an Olympic champion,” Petrounias said “We’ve known each other for eight years and we hang out together Of course I always want to win, but I always accept if I lose and I always want the most fair result Gymnastics is a good sport like that ”Become an artistic gymnastics expert with our interactive infographicArthur Zanetti delighted the home fans by taking gold at the test event on Monday (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)After his historic moment this week, Petrounias will return his full attention to preparing for the Olympic Games He is looking forward to coming back Brazil, a country he feels is similar to his homeland, and in particular Rio “I love it, I could stay here I think,” he said “It’s similar to Athens ”After the trampoline events on Tuesday (19 April), the rhythmic gymnasts will train on Wednesday ahead of their events on Thursday and Friday that will close final Olympic qualfier Click here buy tickets See the full results from the final Olympic qualifier