Cyprus shines with 58 medals and national records in Malta

June started off on the right foot for Cypriot athletes participating at the 19th Games of the Small States of Europe, held in Malta. At the same time, Cyprus tops the list of medals with a total of 58 medals.

Besides winning medals, Cypriot athletes also set national records and achieved individual performances.

Andreas Michallekidis won the gold in the long jump, with a distance of 7.44 meters. This performance is a personal record and his best performance of the year. Loucas Simillides finished in 4th place in the long jump with a distance of 6.73 meters.

Natalia Christofi broke the record in the women's 110m hurdles with a time of 13.01, With her performance, Christofi not only takes home the gold but also leaves the stadium with a national achievement, which she herself held, as well as a race record previously held by Ermorfia Baourda since June 6, 2009.

In the men’s pole vault, Christos Tamanis clinched a silver medal with 5.20m while Nikandros Stylianou got the bronze also with 5.20m.

In the men’s 400m, Paisios Demetriades ranked fourth with a 47.90 time and Pavlos Nicolaou ranked 8th with 48.87.

In the women’s 400m, Kalliopi Koundouri finished second with 55.29 and Rafaelia Demetriou came third with 55.99.

In the 1500m, Michara Andrea Gacuni ranked fourth with a time of 3:51.99, a personal record while Christos Demetriou ranked fifth with a time of 3:54.26.

In the Men’s Shot Put Petros Michaelides finished fourth with 16.57.

In the 110m men’s hurdles, Constantinos Tziakouris came second with a time of 14.52 which is a personal performance while Christos Economides came third with 14.63, also a personal record.

In the Women’s Triple Jump, Nikoleta Chrysanthou came fifth with 12. 09 followed by Chrysonimfi Pediou with 11.86.

In the Women's 3,000 m Steeplechase, Chrystalla Chadjipolidorou won gold after a firm finish and time of 11.02.11.

Cypriot athletes also broke the national record twice in women’s 100m backstroke. Maria Erokhina finished second with a time of 1.10.59 while Michaeldimi Procopiou ranked 7th with 1.16.44. The silver medal went to Panagiotis Panaretos for the Men’s 100m backstroke with 1.01.59 also a Pancyprian record.

Cypriot athletes won gold and silver in the 4Χ100 medley relay. The gold was clinched by the women’s team with a time of 4.15.98, a Pancyprian performance while the men’s team grabbed the silver with a time of 3.43.98.

Swimmer, Kalia Antoniou, added another gold to her collection by winning the 50m freestyle with a time of 25.23. In the same race, Anna Hadjiloizou finished in 3rd place with a time of 25.91 and claimed the bronze medal. Kalia Antoniou also secured the silver medal in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:03.11, while Christina Ayiomamitou finished 5th with a time of 2:07.37.

On the other hand, in the 50m freestyle, Nicholas Antoniou fell behind his usual performance and finished in 4th place with a time of 22.98. Markos Iakovides finished 7th with a time of 23.51.

In the men’s 200m freestyle, Stavros Tzirtzipis came fourth with 1.54.51.

The two-day tournament of 3x3 Men's and Women's Basketball concluded with one gold and one bronze medal, held at the outdoor courts of the "Pavilion" sports complex in Malta.

They saved their best performance for the final. The Men's National Team claimed the gold medal on Thursday, defeating Luxembourg 21-20 in the final and reaching the top step of the podium. The victory of Hionas, Georgiou, Mythilou, and Tretiakov was well-deserved, as they put their hearts into the most important match of the tournament and achieved a great success.

The women's team secured the bronze medal in 3x3 basketball by defeating Malta 15-14 and rightfully climbing to the third step of the podium. Undoubtedly, it is a significant achievement for Georgiou, Kontou, Kyriakou, and Papadouri.

Cyprus judo claimed another gold on Thursday, winning the Men's Mixed category.

With this success, Cypriot judo has reached an unprecedented number of 8 gold medals in this year's Games of the Small States of Europe.

In addition, on Thursday, they added another medal, the bronze in the Women's Mixed category. The judo athletes will return to Cyprus with a total tally of 8 gold, 1 silver, and 7 bronze medals in this year's Games of the Small States of Europe.

The victory of the Women's National Basketball Team against Montenegro is described as historic. The girls of coach Iraklis Pittakas prevailed with a score of 63-59 and secured their first win in the tournament, ending a 10-year "drought," in not winning a game in the Games of the Small States of Europe for so many years.

In the ranking matches starting on Friday, the women who finished in 4th place will once again face Montenegro.

The Men's National Team did not succeed, as they lost to Montenegro with a score of 80-70, and on Friday will face the winner of the match between Malta and Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, Cyprus remains top on the list of medals with a total of 58 medals, including 21 gold, 17 silver, and 20 bronze.

Following Cyprus is Malta with 48 medals (19 gold, 12 silver, 17 bronze), Luxembourg with 46 medals (12 gold, 17 silver, 17 bronze), Iceland with 27 medals (8 gold, 9 silver, 10 bronze), Monaco with 23 medals (8 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze), San Marino with 17 medals (4 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze), Montenegro with 13 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze), Andorra with 13 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, 6 bronze), and Liechtenstein with 5 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).

The penultimate day of the 19th Games of the Small States of Europe continues on Friday with eight events.