Cyprus won two medals within minutes of each other on Monday night at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, as Joseph Kesidis took silver in the hammer throw and Milan Trajkovic bronze in the 110m hurdles.
Athletics
Kesidis threw 76.97m to win Cyprus’s first medal of the night, finishing behind only Canadian Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg. It is the young thrower’s first Commonwealth Games medal and puts Cyprus on the medal table. He competed with composure throughout and, despite an opening foul, improved his distance with every subsequent throw, moving into medal position with his second attempt and into second place with his third, a position he held until the end. His series: foul, 72.65m, 74.78m, 75.79m, 76.97m, 72.91m.
Alexandros Poursanidis, bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, also competed in the final, finishing 7th with a best throw of 66.79m. The 33-year-old said he was disappointed with his own performance, saying it did not reflect his ability this year, but added that he was delighted and proud to compete alongside Kesidis and of the effort shown by his 20-year-old teammate. His series: 64.66m, 66.79m, foul, foul, foul, 65.99m.
Minutes later, Trajkovic doubled Cyprus’s medal count, taking bronze in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.32 seconds. In his best performance of the year, the 34-year-old came close to the Cyprus record of 13.25 seconds, once again showing the depth of his ability and mental toughness. It is Trajkovic’s first medal in his fourth Commonwealth Games appearance.
The times of the top three in the 110m hurdles: Demario Prince (Jamaica) 13.17 seconds, Samuel Bennett (England) 13.30 seconds, Milan Trajkovic (Cyprus) 13.32 seconds.
The two medals were the first of the Games for the Cyprus Commonwealth Games delegation. They were also the 9th and 10th in the history of Cypriot athletics at the Commonwealth Games, with Trajkovic’s the first ever in a running event.
The medal ceremonies for both athletes will take place on Tuesday’s competition schedule.
Weightlifting
Dimitra Ioannou put in a good performance in the women’s 58kg category, finishing 10th with a total of 160kg. She had two successful attempts in both the snatch and the clean and jerk.
In the snatch, Ioannou opened at 65kg and succeeded at 70kg, but failed with her final attempt at 75kg, finishing on 70kg. In the clean and jerk, she succeeded at 85kg and 90kg but failed at 95kg, finishing on 90kg.
Rafiatou Lawal of Nigeria won gold in the category, lifting 229kg (103kg snatch, 126kg clean and jerk) for a new competition record.
Dimitra Ioannou — 58kg
Snatch: 65, 70, 75 (failed) — 70kg
Clean and jerk: 85, 90, 95 (failed) — 90kg
Total: 160kg
