Cyprus
Makes Record Gold Rush
NICOSIA,
6 June 2009 -
Cyprus
broke the all time record for the number of gold medals
won at the Games of the Small States of Europe on Friday
after clinching 12 gold medals in track and field
athletics on Saturday to take the island’s grand total
at this year's XIII Games to 59.
The
Cypriot athletes swept in 12 gold medals (12 in team
events) in the third and final day of the track and
field events having already won 15 in the previous days.
Their
27 gold medals in this year’s games surpassed the gold
medals won at the last GSSE in Monaco when the island
took 24 gold medals.
The
first gold medal at the GSP Sports Complex came from
Evmorfia Baourda who broke the games and Cypriot record
in the 100m hurdles whilst Eleni Artymata also broke the
games record in the 200m.
In
front of 1,800 home supporters, Stefanos Hadjinikolaou
surpassed his personal best to take the gold medal in
the 200m men’s event having previously secured the gold
in the 400m event.
Froso
Drosou came first in the women’s high jump event with
her leap of 1.78m leaving Iceland’s Helga
Thorsteinsdottir in second place with 1.75m and
Luxembourg’s Liz Kuffer in third with 1.72m.
Olympia
Menelaou secured the gold medal in the shot put event
with her winning throw of 14.70m with another Cypriot
Florentia Kapa coming second with 14.55 and Iceland’s
Helga Thorsteinsdottir coming third with 13.60m.
In the
long distance races, Luxembourg’s Pascale Schmoetten
secured a personal record in the 5,000m women’s race
ahead of Iceland’s Arndis Hafthorsdottir and Malta’s
Giselle Camilleri. In the 10,000m men’s race, Kari
Steinn Karlsson easily took first place with Monaco’s
Omar Bachir coming in second and Marcos Sanza Arranz of
Andorra finishing third. Arranz also finished second in
the 5,000m race which Karlsson also won.
In the triple jump event, the Cypriot duo
of Zacharias Arnos and Mathaios Volou redeemed
themselves - after losing out in the long jump event on
Tuesday - by taking first and second place ahead of the
Icelandic athlete who had previously beaten them in the
long jump event, Kristin Torfasson. Arnos finished first
with his jump of 15.40m with Volou coming in second with
15.21m. It was Volou’s second silver at the games whilst
Arnos had finished third in the long jump.
Three out of the four relay races also
ended in Cypriot success with the hosts losing out in
the 4x400m women’s event to winners Luxembourg with
Iceland finishing third.
In the 4x100m women’s race, Artymata
easily crossed the finish line in first place winning
her third gold medal of the competition. In the men’s
race, Cyprus resisted some intense pressure from Malta
to take first place with Iceland finishing third.
Saturday’s schedule finished with the
men’s 4x400m men’s relay race in which Cyprus’
Hadjinikolaou also repelled some late pressure from
Luxembourg to finish first with Malta coming in third
just ahead of Monaco.
ΜP/JL
