Newsroom
Monday is shaping up to be a big day for Cyprus at the 20th Mediterranean Games in Taranto, with 17 athletes carrying the flag across swimming, cycling, fencing, badminton and padel.
At the center of attention is Kalia Antoniou, who will dive into the 100-meter freestyle, looking to defend the Mediterranean title she already owns.
And she is not arriving as an outsider hoping for a surprise. Antoniou has the fastest entry time among the race’s 21 swimmers, giving Cyprus every reason to believe another medal, and perhaps another gold, could be on its way.
Her heat begins at 11 a.m. Cyprus time, with the final scheduled for 7:50 p.m. if she qualifies.
Cyprus will have more reason to keep an eye on the pool. Nikolas Antoniou and Andrew Lagoutis will compete in the men’s 100-meter freestyle, while Panayiotis Panaretos will chase a place in the 50-meter breaststroke final.
Six Cypriots take to the road
Cyprus will also have six riders competing on the streets of Taranto.
Andri Christoforou, Ekaterina Kovalchuk and Styliana Kamilari will race over 77.7 kilometers in the women’s road event from 10 a.m. Their aim will be to remain with the leading group before fighting for a result in the final sprint.
They will line up against 29 other cyclists representing 12 countries.
The men face an even longer afternoon. Andreas Miltiadis, Bogdan Zabelinski and Christodoulos Achchas will tackle 133.3 kilometers from 2 p.m., in a field of 51 riders from 18 nations.
Tofalides targets fencing run
In fencing, Alexandros Tofalides enters the foil competition with serious ambitions.
He has both the experience and ability to challenge the tournament’s leading fencers, with the group stage beginning at 10:45 a.m. and the round of 16 scheduled for later in the day.
Maria Siopacha and Lena Savva face a difficult task in the women’s padel round of 16. The Cypriot pair will meet Italy’s C. Cassali and G. Dal Pozzo at 6 p.m., with home support likely to be firmly behind their opponents.
Four more fly the flag in badminton
Four Cypriot players will also compete in the badminton singles tournament.
Nikolaos Kokosis faces North Macedonia’s Vedan Stefanovski in the men’s round of 32 at 10 a.m., while Eleni Charalambous meets Slovenia’s Anja Blazina in the women’s last 16 at 12:40 p.m.
At the same time, Aris Kattirtzis will face Italy’s Fabio Caponio, while Charalambia Michael takes on another Italian opponent, Yasmine Hamza.
From the swimming pool to the cycling circuit, and from the fencing piste to the badminton court, it will be one of the Cypriot delegation’s busiest days of the Games.
Kalia Antoniou may be carrying the biggest expectations, but she will not be carrying Cyprus alone. Seventeen athletes, five sports, and one flag: Monday belongs to Team Cyprus.
