Newsroom
For a country of just over a million people, every international gold medal feels a little bigger. On Saturday, Cyprus had another reason to celebrate after judoka Yiannis Antoniou made history by winning the country's first-ever Commonwealth Games judo gold.
Competing in the +100kg category, Antoniou won Cyprus' first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo, defeating Australia's Kayhan Ozcicek-Takagi in the final with a commanding performance that secured the top spot on the podium.
His victory provided the perfect ending to what has been one of Cyprus' strongest Commonwealth Games campaigns to date.
But Cyprus' success on the final day didn't stop there. Janet Michaelidou claimed bronze after an impressive victory over Shelley Ludford, while Giorgos Kroussaniotakis added another bronze by defeating fellow Cypriot Aristos Michael in the under-100kg category. The all-Cypriot bronze medal contest guaranteed another place on the podium for the island and capped a memorable Commonwealth Games for Cyprus' judo team.
Consequently, the Cypriot team leaves Glasgow with 12 medals in total, one gold, five silver and six bronze, making it the country's second-best performance ever at the Commonwealth Games.
Before the closing ceremony on Saturday night, Cyprus was sitting 14th in the overall medal table, a remarkable achievement for a nation of just over one million people competing against some of the Commonwealth's largest sporting powers.
For many athletes, simply qualifying for the Games is a dream. Standing on top of the podium while the national flag is raised is something even fewer ever experience.
