Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

sent a delegation to compete at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, held between 12–28 February 2010. The national delegation consisted of two athletes, alpine skiers Christopher Papamichalopoulos and Sophia Papamichalopoulou. Papamichalopoulou finished 53rd in the women's slalom, the best finish for Cyprus at these Olympics. 2010 Opening Ceremony - Cyprus entering

Background

The

Cyprus Olympic Committee The Cyprus Olympic Committee (COC) ( el, Κυπριακή Ολυμπιακή Επιτροπή) is National Olympic Committee representing the Republic of Cyprus. It is responsible for promoting the Olympic ideals on the island and for ensuring ...

was first recognized by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

in 1978, and the nation has participated in every Summer Olympics and

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

since their debut in 1980. At the time of the Vancouver Olympics, no Cypriot athlete had ever won a medal. They would win their first medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics two years after Vancouver. The nation sent two alpine skiers to Vancouver, the brother and sister pair of Christopher Papamichalopoulos and Sophia Papamichalopoulou. Papamichalopoulos was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony, while Papamichalopoulou was awarded the honor for the closing ceremony.

Alpine skiing

Christopher Papamichalopoulos was 21 at the time of the Olympics. In the giant slalom, held on 23 February, he finished the first run with a time of 1 minute and 29 seconds, but failed to finish the second run, and was unranked for the event. He took part in the men's slalom on 27 February, but failed to finish the first run. Sophia Papamichalopoulou was 19 years old at the time of the Vancouver Olympics. She competed in both the women's giant slalom and the women's slalom. The giant slalom was held on 24–25 February, as weather postponed the second run until the next day. In her first run, she posted a time of 1 minute and 28 seconds; the next morning she was faster, recording a time of 1 minute and 23 seconds. Her total time of 2 minute and 51 seconds was good for 55th place out of 60 competitors who finished both runs. The slalom event was held on 26 February, and Papamichalopoulou posted two runs of 1 minute and 2 seconds each. Her combined time was good enough for 53rd place, out of 55 competitors who finished both legs of the race.

References

{{Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics Nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics 2010 Olympics