Cyprus has enjoyed a strong opening week at the Commonwealth Games, winning five medals so far, but the island’s connection to the multi-sport event stretches back almost five decades.
Since making its debut in 1978, Cyprus has missed only one edition of the Games, joining a historic boycott in 1986.
en.philenews looks back at why Cyprus began competing, the reasons behind the boycott and the country’s most successful performances over the years.
First appearance
Cyprus first competed at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.
The country had joined the Commonwealth in 1961, a year after gaining independence from Britain, making it eligible to take part in the Games.
Its debut also followed the development of Cyprus’s own sporting institutions. The Cyprus Olympic Committee was established in 1974 and received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee in May 1978, allowing Cypriot athletes to enter international competitions under their own flag.
Before the establishment and recognition of the committee, leading Cypriot athletes had generally represented Greece at major international events.
Cyprus did not win any medals at its first Games, but its participation marked an important step in its emergence as an independent sporting nation.
Boycotting the 1986 Games
Cyprus had to wait until 1990 to win its first Commonwealth Games medal, partly because it did not compete at Edinburgh 1986.
It joined 31 other Commonwealth teams, mainly from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, in boycotting the Games.
The dispute concerned apartheid in South Africa, the system of legally enforced racial segregation and white-minority rule. Many Commonwealth countries wanted Britain to impose stronger economic sanctions on South Africa to increase pressure on its government.
The British government, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, opposed comprehensive sanctions. Cyprus and the other boycotting nations therefore stayed away from the Edinburgh Games in protest at Britain’s position.
Only 26 countries and territories competed in 1986, compared with 74 at Glasgow 2026.
Best-ever performance
Cyprus recorded its best Commonwealth Games performance at Gold Coast 2018, winning 14 medals, including eight golds.
Six of the gold medals came in gymnastics. Diamanto Evripidou won four, while Marios Georgiou claimed two. Panagiota Andreou and Georgios Achilleos added gold medals in skeet shooting.
The result placed Cyprus 10th in the medal table, its highest-ever finish at the Games.
A Commonwealth Games record
Cypriot shooter Andri Eleftheriou holds the women’s skeet Commonwealth Games record after hitting 52 of 60 targets at Gold Coast 2018.
Unfortunately for Cyprus’s sharpshooters, shooting has not featured at the Games since then, having been left out of both Birmingham 2022 and Glasgow 2026.
From competing under its own flag for the first time in 1978 to winning medals and setting records, Cyprus has developed a proud Commonwealth Games history. Despite its size, the country has repeatedly produced athletes capable of competing at the highest level.
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