Newsroom
Cyprus may be small enough to disappear beneath a thumb on the world map, but its men’s gymnastics team has just made sure the country will be seen on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
For the first time in its history, the national men’s artistic gymnastics team has qualified for the World Championships after an outstanding performance at the European Championships in Zagreb.
Cyprus finished 13th among 30 countries, a result that may look like another number on a scoreboard but carries enormous weight. It secured the team a coveted place at the World Championships in Rotterdam this October, where the island’s colors will be represented alongside the leading gymnastics nations.
Behind the achievement are five athletes: Marios Georgiou, Socrates Pilakouris, Neophytos Kyriakou, Giorgos Angonas and Kyriakos Markidis.
They competed across events that demand extraordinary strength, balance, and precision, where the smallest slip can undo years of preparation. Together, their scores produced something Cyprus had never achieved before: qualification as a full team.
Olympic gymnast Marios Georgiou added another reason to celebrate. He finished sixth in the individual all-around competition and qualified for Saturday’s horizontal bar final with the fourth-highest score of 14.100.
Georgiou is already one of Cyprus’ most successful athletes, but this result was about more than one familiar name. It was a team achievement built by five gymnasts, their coaches, and the professionals working quietly behind the scenes.
The coaching team includes Panayiotis Petrides, Herodotos Georgallas, Panayiotis Shiippis and Ioannis Petrides. The wider delegation also includes judges, medical and scientific staff and mission chief Skevi Andreou.
For a country where football usually claims most of the headlines, the team’s qualification is also a reminder that some of Cyprus’ biggest sporting successes are being built away from packed stadiums and television spotlights.
There may be no roaring home crowd during the long hours in the gym, only repeated routines, sore muscles and the determination to try once more when a landing does not go to plan.
Now, all that unseen work has delivered a very visible reward.
For the first time, Cyprus is sending a men’s artistic gymnastics team to the World Championships. Five athletes stepped onto the floor in Zagreb and left, having made history.
