Pavlos Kontides raced into gold-medal contention in the Laser dinghy at the Olympic regatta on Wednesday, raising hopes of securing a first podium finish at a Games by a Cypriot athlete.
Kontides, 22, took a second and fourth in the day’s races and holds a one-point lead over Australia’s four-time world champion Tom Slingsby after six races.
Kontides shares the same coach and trains with Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic who sits third overall, seven points behind the Cypriot.
“We have trained really hard on the water and in the gym and when you have a good opponent, somebody to compare with and to push you (it’s good),” Kontides said.
“We are friends all the time off the water (but) on the water I guess we are competing. This is sport.”
Britain’s 2008 Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison, taking painkillers for a back injury, edged up to sixth overall but is 29 points behind Kontides.
Fellow athlete Andreas Kariolou competing at the RS-X Olympic Windsurfing event has been so far ranked 19th overall in a total of 38 athletes.
