Twelve years after he became the first ever Cypriot Olympic medallist, Pavlos Kontides has done it again in Paris.
The Greek Cypriot dinghy sailor won a silver medal at the Olympic Games on Wednesday, finishing second in the medal race in Marseille to secure overall second place behind Australian Matt Wearn.
Kontides and Wearn, who has now won back-to-back Olympic gold medals, winning in Tokyo in 2021, embraced after the race.
Speaking after winning the medal, Kontides said, “thank you to all of Cyprus for the love and the energy.”
“I had everything shut down to stay focused and I am sure an outpouring of love will follow.
“The feelings are fantastic. I shed tears of joy with my coach, my wife, and my child. I had to play a game of patience in the race. There are some things in life which make you very proud.
“I knew I had a chance for gold, but the pain of Tokyo, I knew what it means to be fourth. The pain is far greater than the joy of gold. So, if I had to choose between taking a chance on the gold or choosing to get silver or bronze, I would always choose to get a medal.”
Cyprus now had two medal wins in its Olympic history, both wins coming from Kontides.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides congratulated the sailor on his success.
“Today is a historic day for our country and its sports, since our champion Pavlos Kontides won for the second time a silver medal at the Olympic Games,” he said.
“I want to express the Cypriot people’s feelings of deep emotion and joy at the feat of our champion, who once again has raised Cypriot sports to the highest level of world sport.
“Pavlos Kontides has made Cyprus proud, and we are all deeply grateful for his excellent achievement.”
The 34-year-old has now become just the sixth athlete ever to win multiple Olympic medals in this discipline.
This is Cyprus’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and moves them up to 63rd place on the tally.
