THE Cypriot athletes posted an all time record for the number of gold medals won at the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe which were officially concluded last Saturday at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia with the burning flame symbolically extinguished.
“We have enjoyed this journey, wishing in many ways that it would never end, but we have now reached the crossroad and a new journey will now begin which will lead to Liechtenstein in 2011,” said, the President of the Cyprus Olympic Committee, Ouranios Ioannides, during his farewell speech at the ceremony.
Cyprus handed over the Games Flag to Liechtenstein the nation that will host the XIV GSSE which may also see a debut from Montenegro, but will also exclude basketball in both the men’s and women’s category as the host country will not be able to compile teams.
“During the last six days, each and every one of us made his or her mark on the games and they are moments that will be forever carried throughout our own lives. But above all, we have all made a unified mark on these games. This mark is our own common foundation that we all built and lived on together and which we will now all carry together forever,” added Ioannides.
However, it seems that everything was not that bright throughout the games as the Maltese Olympic Committee president Lino Farrugia Sacco lashed out at the organizers branding the whole set-up of the event ‘a magnificent disaster’: “The Cyprus organizing committee has produced a magnificent disaster. Since our arrival here we have had to deal with a series of problems which we were not prepared for and this did not help our athletes settle down easily.”
“The first major problem we faced was hotel accommodation. Unfortunately, the Cypriot organizers also decided at the very last minute to have their entire basketball squad in the same hotel where all athletes from the other participating nations were staying, creating a huge congestion. As a result twin rooms are now accommodating three athletes and in some cases even more. This was not something we were pleased about. The same goes for the other nations,” added Farrugia Sacco.
He also expressed his disbelief with the lack of interest among the Cypriots to actually come and watch their athletes compete: “This is the first time in many editions that I have seen an opening ceremony with such a poor attendance. In our opinion, the Cyprus organizers got their marketing wrong as so far very few people have turned up for the games with competition being held in front of almost empty seats. It is a real shame for the image of the GSSE.”
With a total of 139 medals Cyprus firmly stood at the top spot of the overall medal standings at the conclusion of the Games. Iceland finished second with 81, while Luxembourg ended in the third place with 62 medals. Monaco was ranked fourth with 42 medals, San Marino finished fifth with 29, Malta sixth with 21, Liechtenstein seventh with 18 medals, while Andorra hit the rock-bottom with 17 medals and only one gold medal.
