Cyprus’ Kouyoumdjian set to race at Beijing Olympics

Cyprus’ only athlete taking part in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Yianno Kouyoumdjian is set to race on Sunday morning at 4.15am Cyprus time at the Yanging Olympic slope.

Kouyoumdjian will compete in the giant slalom event. His first race will be followed by a second one at 7.45am Cyprus time. He will then take part in the downhill event on Wednesday.

Cyprus’ mission leader Giotis Ioannides said Kouyoumdjian is in top shape and he is well prepared for the difficult races ahead of him.

“We did everything we had to do to prepare him for the event,” he said in a post published on the Cyprus Olympic Committee’s Facebook page om Friday.

“He did three training sessions on tracks similar to the one where the race will take place and he did well.

“We were jokingly saying that the slopes could also be used for ice hockey, considering their condition, as we say that in previous days, even top skiers had a hard time adjusting to them.

“However, we remain optimistic for the race on Sunday,” Ioannides said.

Yiannos began skiing at the age of three on the slopes of the Troodos mountains. Already a veteran of competition skiing, he placed 36th out of more than 100 world-class athletes at the World Ski Championships in Cortina, Italy last year.