Cypriot yachtsman Pavlos Kontidis won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 7. He brought the country the second Olympic medal in its history. And it became the second silver in his career.
Gold medalist Australian Matt Wearne, Kontidis and bronze medalist Peruvian Stefano Peschiera climbed to the podium.
This is Kontidis' second silver medal. He achieved a similar result at the 2012 games.
The athlete said: “Thank you to Cyprus for the love and energy. The feeling is fantastic. I cried with joy along with my coach, wife and child. During the race I had to be patient. I knew I had a chance to compete for gold. But after Tokyo I know what it means to be fourth. The pain of defeat is much greater than the joy of gold. So if I had to choose between a chance at a gold medal or a guarantee of silver or bronze, I would choose the latter,” he said.
For Matt Wearne, the stakes were very high. He was bidding to become the first consecutive Olympic gold medalist in the history of the discipline. This is what ultimately happened.
The medal race was scheduled for August 6, but was ultimately canceled due to weather conditions. The competition on August 7 also had to be stopped shortly after the start due to lack of wind and started again.
The Cyprus Olympic Committee noted that Kontidis is only the sixth athlete in the history of his discipline to win multiple Olympic medals. “Pavlos’ first goal was to win a medal, any medal. Pavlos took great pains to ensure that the wait and delays did not affect his mental state. He achieved his goal by finishing behind Australian Wearn, who was generally considered to have run an excellent race,” the committee said in a statement.
President Nikos Christodoulides was one of the first to congratulate Kontidis on his triumph. “Today is a historic day for our country and its sport, as our champion Pavlos Kontidis won an Olympic silver medal for the second time,” the president said.
Kontidis' result lifts Cyprus to 58th place in the medal standings, level with Armenia, Colombia, Fiji, Mongolia and Tunisia.
The text was prepared based on materials from Cyprus Mail.
Other achievements
On August 4, Cyprus champion Elena Kulichenko took seventh place in the high jump final. This was Cyprus's first appearance in the finals of this discipline and, therefore, the country's best result in its entire history of participation in the Olympics. You can read more here.
Judoka Sofia Asvesta also showed a good result. She made it to the 1/8 finals, but was defeated by two-time Olympic champion from France Amadine Busa. Asvesta took ninth place in the final standings, this is the best achievement in the entire history of Cypriot judo.
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