Sailor Pavlos Kontides claimed bronze at the Los Angeles sailing Grand Slam, adding another medal to his collection in the waters that will host the 2028 Olympics.
The medal marks Kontides’ second podium finish in 2025, following his silver at the World Championship in Qingdao, China. It was also his best placement in the newly established sailing Grand Slam series. In previous Grand Slams this year, he finished ninth in Mallorca, 18th in Hyères and sixth in Kiel.
Beyond the medal, Kontides said the competition provided valuable insight into conditions at the 2028 Olympic venue, where he plans to compete in his sixth Olympic Games.
“I am very pleased and satisfied with the bronze medal. I sailed very well these four days,” Kontides said. “It was the first test for the Olympics. I am quite excited about it. The conditions were quite good.”
He elaborated on the weather conditions: “We had a mix of weather conditions. I am satisfied with my performance in both the light winds and the breeze.”
Kontides had been training at San Pedro, the Los Angeles harbour where boat class racing will take place in 2028. The Grand Slam was held at Long Beach, which will host board class events at the Olympics.
The sailor will remain in Los Angeles until 23 July for further training at San Pedro. “We will do a few more days of preparation before we leave Los Angeles. Then there will be a little rest period in Cyprus before the European Championship in Marstand, Sweden in August,” said the Limassol Nautical Club sailor.
Kontides finished the fourth Grand Slam of the year strongly, winning the final race on Wednesday morning (16 July) – the 11th overall as the 12th race could not be completed. The victory secured his third-place finish overall.
His previous race resulted in an 18th-place finish, his worst of the competition and one of two races discarded from his total. His race-by-race results were: 11th, 7th, 9th, 6th, 11th, 1st, 11th, 3rd, 4th, 18th and 1st.
With 53 penalty points, Kontides finished two points ahead of New Zealand’s George Gautrey. Britain’s Eliot Hanson and Michael Beckett, who both scored 38 points, completed the podium.
“The English had raced here in June and it showed in the results that they had an advantage. We focused on training and sailing in the Olympic waters,” Kontides noted.
Kontides is the first and only athlete ever to win an Olympic medal for Cyprus, having won silver medals at both the London 2012 and Paris 2024 Olympics in the Men’s Laser class.
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