BEIJING, 16
August 2008 - The tension, the emotions, the joy, the
sorrow, all brought scenes from an ancient Greek tragedy
at the men's Skeet final of the 2008 Beijing Olympic
Games, today. Just one position below the podium,
Antonis Nikolaidis (4th), and following him Giorgos
Achilleos (5th)! The top sporting moment of Cyprus...
and still, the faces were not shining. Instead, long
after the last shot was fired, one could still see tears in
the eyes all around.
The President of the
Republic of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, rushed to be
one of the first to congratulate the Cypriot athletes,
who are going through the most intense experience of
their lives. And if Giorgos Achilleos is still 27 and,
as he himself said, still has three or four Olympic
Games ahead of him, Antonis Nikolaidis was at once the
best of Cyprus' best of all times and a tragic figure.
God knows what the President of the Cyprus Olympic
Committee, Kikis, N. Lazarides, whispered to his hear,
as they both broke down embraced and weeping.
Even the humour of the
President of the Republic was not enough to bring back
the smiles. The air was so tense, that passers-by could
hardly believe their eyes. Thankfully, a dozen or so
friends of the Cypriot shooters came by and with their
slogan-chanting lightened the mood.
The top sporting moment
of Cyprus brought together the current and the ex
Presidents of the Republic. Tassos Papadopoulos sat next
to Christofias on the tribune and experienced the
excitement together. "Only sports could bring them so
close," someone said when they embraced and posed
together for the photographers.
There must have been
more than 50 Cypriots this afternoon at the Olympic
Shooting Range, located on the outskirts of Beijing--a
40-minute ride from the Olympic Green: State officials,
members of the Cyprus Olympic Committee and the Cyprus
Sports Organisation, athletes who were not competing at
the time, and family and friends who travelled all the
way from Cyprus to give their support to the shooters.
President Christofias
emphasised the importance of participating in the Games
and pointed out that their results were a tremendous
success for Cyprus. "We should be proud for what Antonis
and Giorgos achieved today," said the President. "Just
as for the rest of our team, who are giving it their
very best. We may be a little sad with the way the medal
was lost for Antonis, but this achievement is a great
moment for Cyprus. Our small country is here and she is
strong. Take a look at the countries of our
opponents--then you will be doubly proud."
The President of the
Cyprus Olympic Committee, who has been following Antonis
Nikolaidis and Giorgos Achilleos ever since the began
shooting, was especially moved: "We must congratulate
them for the thrilling emotions that they offered us.
Even if they did not climb on the podium. I consider
Cyprus' participation at the Beijing Olympic Games to be
the most successful ever. And we still have a long road
ahead... The Beijing Olympic Games are a great event and
Cyprus has two Olympians she can be very proud of."
The President of the
Cyprus Shooting Sport Federation, Demetris F. Lordos,
who is in Beijing as chairman of the Shotgun Jury for
the Olympic Games, said: "Shooting, the hard currency of
sports in Cyprus, is always present at all the great
events. Today we wrote another chapter in the history of
sports in Cyprus. Winning a medal is not as easy as it
appears from the tribune or on television. They both did
a great job--and congratulations to them."
