Cypriot Olympic champion Pavlos Kontidis was welcomed to his “second home” at the Limassol Nautical Club with fireworks, loud applause and flares on Friday evening, August 9, as he urged people to fight for their dreams.
On Wednesday, Kontidis won a silver medal in sailing at the Olympic Games in France, drawing much praise for his achievements.
He arrived at the Marine Club on Friday evening, accompanied by young athletes who welcomed him back to his “second home” where he had trained for years.
Local mayor Kyriakos Xydias praised Kontidis' feat and said he would make a proposal to rename the coastal Avenue Georgiou A in honor of Kontidis.
Clearly touched by the initiative, the athlete said that 12 years after his first medal, he was once again experiencing extremely emotional moments, despite the difficulties and challenges he had to face along the way.
He thanked Xydias for the offer, saying that he would have been considered crazy if, as a child, he had written in his notebooks that he was an Olympic champion, an international athlete, in whose honor there was a statue and an avenue named in Limassol.
It shows “that no matter how unimaginable our dreams may be, when one is patient, persistent and has the right people around him and works hard, anything is possible. Only our mind can stop us, no one else.”Chairman of the Limassol Nautical Club Andreas Papadopoulos welcomed him "with great pride" and called Kontidis "an exemplary athlete who stands out not only for his sporting achievements, but also for his morality." He congratulated him, his parents, family and coach.
“What you offer to our club, sailing and the sport of Cyprus has no unit of measurement.”Kontidis said that Cypriot society needs role models, people whom the younger generation can look up to and who can set high goals for themselves.
“We must invest heavily in maritime education, we have the best free stadium, our sea, so all schools must know which way the wind blows and how to tie knots.”This is Kontidis' second Olympic medal. He won his first silver at the London 2012 Olympics, which was also Cyprus' first medal.
Source: cyprus-mail.com
