Cyprus celebrated a historic evening at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Monday, with hammer thrower Iosif Kesidis claiming silver and hurdler Milan Trajkovic winning bronze to secure two athletics medals for the island.

According to Cyprus Olympic Committee correspondent Ilias Pratsos, Kesidis delivered Cyprus’ first medal of the Games by throwing 76.97 metres to finish second behind Canada’s Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg.

The 20-year-old recovered from a foul on his opening attempt to improve steadily throughout the competition. He moved into the medal positions with his second throw before climbing into second place with his third, a position he held until the end of the event. The medal is the first of his career at the Commonwealth Games.

Also competing in the hammer final was Alexandros Poursanidis, the bronze medallist from the 2022 Games, who finished seventh with a best throw of 66.79 metres. The 33-year-old said he was disappointed with his own performance but proud of his younger teammate’s achievement.

Minutes later, Trajkovic doubled Cyprus’ medal haul by finishing third in the men’s 110 metres hurdles final in a season’s best time of 13.32 seconds. The 34-year-old came within seven hundredths of a second of his Cypriot record of 13.25.

Jamaica’s Demario Prince took gold in 13.17 seconds, while England’s Samuel Bennett claimed silver in 13.30. The bronze was Trajkovic’s first medal in his fourth appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

The two medals are the ninth and tenth won by Cypriot athletics in the history of the Commonwealth Games. Trajkovic’s bronze is also Cyprus’ first ever medal in a track event at the competition.

In weightlifting, Dimitra Ioannou finished tenth in the women’s 58kg category with a combined total of 160kg, lifting 70kg in the snatch and 90kg in the clean and jerk. Nigeria’s Rafiatu Lawal won gold with a Games record total of 229kg.

Kesidis and Trajkovic will receive their medals during Tuesday’s medal ceremonies.