Georgios Achilleos (; born 24 December 1980) is a Cypriot sports shooter and past World titlist and World No. 1 in Skeet. He is a four-time Skeet Shooting medalist in the World Championships, and a four-time Olympian, with his 5th position in Beijing 2008 being to date (as of 2017) Cyprus’ third-best all time placing at the Olympics, after Pavlos Kontides’

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in Laser sailing in London 2012 and Antonis Nikolaidis’ 4th place in Skeet Shooting in Beijing 2008. He was the national flag bearer at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. Achilleos has the existing distinction of being the inaugural Cypriot athlete to set a

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in an

Olympic Sport Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the Internation ...

. He is the current WR holder after shooting 125/125 at the 2015 Larnaca ISSF World Cup. His inaugural World Record was in 2005 in Dubai where he scored 124+24.

Early life and career

Achilleos was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1980. His parents originate from the town of

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

on the west coast of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He started competing in Skeet Shooting in a young age and recorded his first success in the Junior level. His international debut was at the 1997 European Championships in

Sipoo Sipoo (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The administrative center of the municipality i ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

where he took 9th place. His first major medal (silver) came at the 1998 European Championships, held in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, Cyprus. Achilleos competed in the 1998 World Championship in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

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taking 10th place. The 1999 season was a breakthrough year for Achilleos. His debut World Cup in the Men's category ended in 16th place in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. He placed 31st in

Kumamoto is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a populat ...

and European Championship (35th at Poussan. He won gold in the Junior's event at the 1999 World Championship in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

. His last major Junior distinction came in 2000 (after he already started regularly competing as a Senior), when he equaled the Junior World Record at the 2000 Lonato World Cup with 123+24, and took away a bronze medal. Achilleos automatically qualified for the 2000 Sidney Summer Olympics at the age of 19.

Summer Olympics

He has represented the island in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

ranking 23rd,

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

ranking 9th,

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

ranking 5th and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

where he finished in 11th place.

Sydney 2000

Just a few months before turning 20, George Achilleos was named a member of Team Cyprus at the 2000 Summer Olympics, held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The young Cypriot started the event with the best possible way, shooting 25/25 and 24/25 at the two starting rounds, but then went on to close Day 1 on September 22 with a low 22/25. Despite his efforts in Day 2 where he recorded two sets of 24/25, Achilleos finished in 23rd place with 119/125. Ten shooters tied at 122/125 for the remaining three spots in the final, amongst them fellow Cypriot Antonakis Andreou, who went on to take 8th place.

Athens 2004

Four years later, a now experienced Achilleos went to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

as one of the best young shooters in Skeet. He was the national flag barer at the Opening Ceremony at the OAKA stadium. The Cypriot delegation received a standing ovation by the mostly Greek crowd, due to the islands’ ties to Greece. George then set his eyes on the skeet event, which was held at the Markopoulo Shooting Centre on 21 and 22 August. After shooting 24, 24 and then 25, Achilleos closed day 1 tied in 8th place with 73/75. Day 2 started with a 23/25 could seriously affect his hopes for the final. He closed the day with a perfect 25/25 to finish up in 9th place, just one disc away from the shoot-off.

Beijing 2008

Achilleos went into the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as the favorite for the gold medal, since he was world No1 in ISSF's rankings and the reigning World Champion. Due to his international successes, Achilleos was chosen for a second consecutive Olympiad to carry the flag at the Opening Ceremony, this time in the Bird's Nest of the Chinese capital. A week later (15 and 16 August) the skeet event was set to take place and all Cypriot eyes were on the Beijing Shooting Range. Then President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Demetris Christofias and former President

Tassos Papadopoulos Efstathios "Tassos" Nikolaou Papadopoulos (; 7 January 1934 – 12 December 2008) was a Cypriot politician and barrister, who served as President of Cyprus from 2003 to 2008. An experienced member of the Makarios III’s cabinet, Papadopo ...

were also in attendance, hoping to witness Cyprus’ first ever Olympic medal. Day 1 started bad for Achilleos, who shot 23, 24 and 23 for a total of 70/75. But with only nine shooters having better ranking after day 1, including four athletes with 71/75, the road to the final was still open. And George didn't disappoint on day 2. He started with a perfect 25/25 and closed the day with 24/25, which put him on 5th position (119/125). Fellow Cypriot Antonis Nikolaides also finished the qualification round in the top 6, with a score of 120/125, giving Cyprus its first ever double Olympic final participation in any event. In what was expected to be an historic day for Cyprus, turned out to become one of Cyprus most painful. Achilleos recorded 24/25 in the final, which kept him in 5th position with a total of 143, just one disc shy of the bronze medal shoot off. Nikolaides also had 24/25 in the final, but went on to lose the medal shoot-off against Anthony Terras of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, settling for a 4th position. The 4th and 5th position by Nikolaides and Achilleos respectively is to date (as of 2017) Cyprus’ second and third best placing in the Olympics, following the silver medal of sailor Pavlos Kontides in London four years later.

London 2012

Achilleos returned for his fourth Olympic appearance -a tied record for the island as of 2017. Although being the top finisher four years earlier, George didn't carry the flag at the Opening Ceremony since the skeet event was scheduled just three days later and he opted not to attend the Opening Ceremony.

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

star

Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis (Greek language, Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, Arabic language, Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس); born 17 June 1985 is a Greek Cypriot former professional tennis player and coach. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Aus ...

was chosen to carry the flag. The competition on day 1 at the

Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 171 ...

started negatively for Achilleos, with a 23 and a 22-round keeping him well below the top six. The Cypriot closed the day with a 24/25. On day 2 Achilleos was improved with a total of 49/50, but the 118 mark was two discs below the needed score to qualify for the final, finishing in 11th position.

Shooting competitions

World Championships

The most important annual shooting event organized by the ISSF is the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, an event in which George has won four medals as a Senior as of 2017, making him just one of a handful of Cypriot athletes who have won medals in senior world championships. The gold medal in the Nicosia 2007 World Championship is Achilleos’ biggest accomplishment, with three more medals coming in Maribor 2009, Munich 2010 and Moscow 2017.

World Cup

As of 2017 George Achilleos is the most medaled skeet shooter still active in the world, with a total of 15 podiums in

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. He has won six gold all in the span between 2007 and 2012. His first World Cup medal came in 2000 in Lonato, Italy, while his latest (as of 2017) came in the "home court" of

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

in 2017. George has also won three medals in World Cup Finals. A gold in 2007, and bronze in 2005 and 2009.

Other events

Including the World Championships, World Cups and World Cup Finals, Achilleos has stepped on the podium in eight different international main events. The Cypriot skeet shooter has won medals in

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from countries served by national Olympic committees within the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the regional association for such committ ...

and even in the bi-annual

Games of the Small States of Europe The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small state, small states since 1985. The Games a ...

, a multisport event which is attended by European countries of one million population and below.

World Records

As of 2017, Achilleos is the only Cypriot to have set a World Record in an Olympic sport, a feat that he managed more than once. Achilleos first equaled the World Record in skeet shooting in 2005 at

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, by shooting 124/125. He again equaled the World Record and currently shares the WR after scoring a perfect 125/125 in

in 2015. Achilleos shot a perfect 125/125 two more times during domestic championships, although these particular events didn't count for a world record. These occurred in March 2011 at Paralimni and February 2015 in Larnaca.

Honors and awards

As one of Cyprus’ most medaled athletes internationally in all sports since the beginning of the 21st century, Achilleos has been selected twice (2007, 2010) as the island's top athlete by the Cyprus Sports Writers Union. The particular ceremony (which takes place since the 80s) is considered as the most prestigious sporting award in the country, with the President of the Republic traditionally the person who presents the award to the best Cypriot athlete of the year. Besides winning top accolade twice, Achilleos has the record of most appearances in the top 5; 13 straight times with the run coming to an end at the 2017 event. Achilleos was selected as the flag bearer of Cyprus for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

Equipment and sponsors

Achilleos is one of Beretta's international sporting personalities. As of 2017 the Cypriot shooter uses the DT11 Black Edition from Beretta. Achilleos travels each year after the end of the season to the Beretta factory in

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, Italy for modifications to his weapons.

OPAP OPAP – Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A. () is a Greek company organizing and conducting games of chance. It is headquartered in Athens and for many years OPAP was a state-owned gambling monopoly. The company holds the exclusive ...

Cyprus has been a long time sponsor for Achilleos, with their partnership continuing since 2007. Olympia is George's official cartridge provider while

adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

is a supporter.

Personal life

Achilleos is married and has two children, a son born in 2006 and a second son born in 2014.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Achilleos, Georgios 1980 births Living people Sport shooters from London Cypriot male sport shooters Skeet shooters English people of Greek Cypriot descent Shooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists in shooting Commonwealth Games silver medallists in shooting Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Cyprus Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Cyprus Shooters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Cyprus Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Cyprus Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in shooting Shooters at the 2015 European Games Shooters at the 2019 European Games European Games medalists in shooting European Games silver medalists for Cyprus Olympic shooters for Cyprus Shooters at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2023 European Games