Olympics-Gymnastics-Should I stay or should I go, asks Jovtchev

COPENHAGEN, July 24 (Reuters) - Bulgarian gymnast Jordan Jovtchev has said he will quit after his fifth Olympics in Beijing. Or will he?

For every statement fuelling speculation that Jovtchev will soldier on, the 35-year-old rings specialist seems to make one that quashes it. "I would be really sad to be done with gymnastics," the former world champion told Reuters this month. "I'll be staying in shape and doing a few exhibitions, which will give me time to see friends like (Alexei) Nemov and (Dimitri) Karbanenko.

"But I'm 99 percent sure that I won't go to the Olympics again."

Then this week, in a second interview with Reuters, Jovtchev seemed to imply he might compete at the world championships in London next year.

"Let's see what will happen in Beijing," he said. "If I'm in a good mood and have the motivation to compete after that, who knows, maybe I'll take part in another big championship."

The former rings and floor world champion, who lives and trains in Houston, Texas, has competed in every Olympics since 1992. His haul of 23 medals in major competitions -- Olympics, and world and European championships -- lacks only Olympic gold.

"It would be really nice to make the final in Beijing, and then everybody has a chance," he said. "It would be a miracle to get a gold medal, but not impossible. I'd be very glad with any kind of medal."

In 2004 in Athens, Jovtchev missed out on rings gold by only 0.012 of a point. He also won the floor bronze there, as well as the floor and rings bronze in Sydney.

It has been a long journey since, as a wide-eyed teenager, he first savoured the Olympic experience 16 years ago.

"I never dreamed about competing in five Olympics," Jovtchev said. "The first one, I didn't even know what was going on. I was the youngest gymnast in our team and I was just glad I made the team."

Germany's Oxana Chusovitina, 33, will also be contesting her fifth Olympic games in Beijing, the most for a female gymnast.

Jovtchev is a hero in his native Bulgaria where a sports hall has been named after him in the Black Sea resort town of Varna. The secret to his longevity?

"I'm always trying to give my best in every competition and I was lucky not to have major injuries," he said.

He will be testing that luck in Beijing because he is battling a ligament injury that has swollen his wrist. He's still considering whether or not to compete on the floor.

"For the rings, I haven't decided what's best: to do something new or just try to do my old routine from the (2007) world championships as clean as possible to get the best score," he said.

"Making a new skill would make a difference but I don't want to make any mistakes." (Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)