The ceremony began in 1973 and the concept of the awards is that sport journalists in Cyprus vote for their best athletes and sport teams of the year.
The Laser sailor becomes the first ever athlete in the history of the Sport Journalists Union Awards to be elected five times as the Athlete of the Year, within the last six years.
“It is surely a big honour for me to be chosen as the Athlete of the Year. This is the fifth time I am honoured to receive this award which reveals all the sacrifices and hard work I try to put every year in order to maintain a high level of performance consistency.”
Kontides has had an incredible year in sailing, winning gold at the Laser 2017 Standard Men’s World Championship and at the 2017 World Cup Series in Hyères, France. He also won silver at the 2017 World Cup Series in Miami, USA, and also the recent World Cup Series in Gamagori, Japan.
“This honour also reflects the recognition of my annual success as an athlete from all the people in Cyprus and especially from the Sports Journalists. It is also a proof of the excellent work done by my coach and my team associates”, he states.
The 27 year old will be attending the 2018 World Cup Series in Miami, in just a few weeks time. His main objectives for 2018 is winning the Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, this summer, which will enable him to qualify Cyprus for a Laser place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“I will continue the hard work with the same passion, patience and persistence, so I can always give my best performance”, he concluded.