Cypriots Kontides and Makri set to compete in Olympic regatta today

Athletes Pavlos Kontides and Marilena Makri will compete in the Olympic Regatta on Thursday as the Olympic Games are in full swing. Both are in Laser-type boats, now known as ILCA (ILCA 7 for Men and ILCA 6 for Women).

Natasa Lappa, meanwhile, climbed to 19th place with 121 points in the Women’s Windsurfing (iQFOiL) after Wednesday's races, improving from her previous 23rd position.

Kontides and Makri completed a lengthy preparation period in Marseille on Tuesday. Kontides began his preparation in 2022, including an extended stay in southern France, while Makri started her training in Marseille in April following her qualification.

Kontides' races are scheduled for 13:15 Cyprus time, and Makri's at 16:35 on Thursday, though the schedule is subject to change due to wind conditions. Forecasts predict favorable winds in the coming days. There will be ten races in the ILCA class until August 5, with the best nine counting towards the final score. Medal races are set for August 6. Each category features 43 boats.

Makri aims to rank in the top ten. In Tokyo 2020, the 21-year-old from the Famagusta Nautical Club finished 33rd.

Kontides, ranked 9th globally, is competing in his fifth Olympics. He finished 13th in Beijing, won silver in London, placed 7th in Rio, and 4th in Tokyo.

"I feel good, very ready. The preparation went very well; we drew useful conclusions about wind behavior and meteorological conditions. The most important thing is to use this data and hope the weather is as expected because you can never be 100% sure about the weather," Kontides said.

In iQFOiL, five races are scheduled for Lappa on Thursday. Ranked 44th in the world, Lappa aims to improve her 21st-place finish from Tokyo 2020, targeting a position as close to 15th as possible.