First Cyprus medallist gets hero's welcome
Hundreds of adoring fans flocked to Larnaca airport on Thursday to
give a hero's welcome to Olympic silver medallist Pavlos Kontides, the
first medal winner for Cyprus.
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Cypruss Pavlos Kontides celebrates on the podium winning
silver in the Laser sailing class at the London 2012 Olympic
Games, in Weymouth. AFP |
His Cyprus Airways plane passed through a victory water arch laid on
by the fire service.
"I feel very proud and emotional, words cannot describe this
feeling," said Kontides, 22, dedicating his triumph on Monday in the
men's Laser one-person dinghy event to his parents, girlfriend and
coaching team.
He travelled on to his hometown Limassol, the island's second city on
the south coast, for a rapturous reception at the sailing club where he
first started out on his Olympic odyssey.
On Friday, he is to receive the island's Grand Order of Merit from
President Demetris Christofias. Starved of international sporting
success, Cypriots have lapped up the medal triumph as a much needed
tonic to recession economics. The medal winner has been showered with
plaudits from across the political and sporting spectrum.
He took a two-year break from his studies at the University of
Southampton in England to prepare for the London Games, overcoming a
number of injuries in the process. Cyprus sent a 13-strong team to
London -- including tennis player Marcos Baghdatis who lost to eventual
gold medal winner Andy Murray -- in search of that elusive first medal.
Sailing is considered a minority sport in Cyprus where the national
game is football. But the "Kontides factor" is expected to inspire a new
generation and revive the Mediterranean island's seafaring tradition.
AFP |
