Apostolos Parellis’ first major sporting success came in 2002 at the age of 17, when he took 4th position in the discus event at the 2002
Gymnasiade at
Caen, France.
2007 On 28 March, Parellis set his first National Record by achieving a throw of 57.81m. at the Diagoreia meeting at
GSP stadium. He broke Petros Mitsides’ record of 56.39m. that stood since 2004. The new NR came while competing against the previous holder Mitsides who during that meeting also broke his personal best. On 14 July the Cypriot discus athlete won bronze at the
European Athletics U23 Championships that was held in
Debrecen, Hungary, setting his second NR with a throw of 58.16m.
2008 Despite not setting a new NR during the season, 2008 was a successful year for Parellis. By winning gold in the
European Team Championships Second League, he helped Cyprus achieve promotion, while he also won first position in the
Pancyprian Games.
2009 Four new National Records were set during 2009 by Parellis: • In May at the Matseia meeting he threw 59.05m. he
won gold and set a new Games Record along with his fourth NR. • At the end of June during the European Team Championships he set a new record 60.94m. on the road to winning silver. • The fourth and final National Record of the year came at the Summer
Universiade at
Belgrade,
Serbia, when Parellis overcame the 61 metre mark (61.07m.) for the first time. During the season, Parellis also competed at the
2009 Mediterranean Games in
Pescara, Italy and took 7th position with 60.12m.
2010 Apostolos reached the 62 metres mark during the season. In April during the Cyprus University Championships, Parellis again broke the National Record with a throw at 61.82m., while two months later he set a new record during a meeting with 61.92m. Parellis’ good run continued at the
European Athletics Championships in
Barcelona, Spain where he took 17th position overall (60.57m.) on 31 July. The season ended in October at the
Commonwealth Games at
Delhi, India, where Apostolos narrowly missed the podium, by finishing 4th. With a throw of 60.51m., the Cypriot finished just 13 centimetres away from the bronze.
2011 The year opened at the Games of the Small States of Europe at
Liechtenstein in June, with Parellis having the honour of being Cyprus’
flag bearer during the opening ceremony. He went on to win gold with 59.73m. In September, Parellis competed at the Summer Universiade in
Shenzhen, China, and with a throw of 61.44 he took 6th position overall.
2012 Two years after his last NR, Parellis once again improved his personal best in March, when he passed the 62 metres mark for the first time (62.49m.) Crete, Greece while the following day at Chania, Crete, Apostolos again broke the NR, this time by thrashing the national record with a throw of 65.36m. In August, Parellis competed at the
2012 Summer Olympics in London. With a throw at 63.48m. the Cypriot finished in
13th position overall, just one spot and seven centimetres away from the final. By finishing 13th in the discus event, Parellis currently has the highest placing (tied with high jump athlete
Kyriakos Ioannou) by an athlete
representing Cyprus in the Olympic Games track and field events.
2013 Following a difficult Olympic season, Parellis was unable to reach the same high standards during 2013. But despite not coming close to his personal best, Apostolos qualified for the
2013 Athletics World Championships in
Moscow, Russia, in August and took 19th position with 59.84m. Earlier, in June Parellis won silver at the Games of the Small States of Europe in
Luxembourg with a throw at 59.11m. and seventh position (59.40m.) at the
2013 Mediterranean Games in
Mersin, Turkey.
2014 The season started strong for Parellis, who returned to his big throws. In March at the
European Winter Throwing Cup in
Leiria, Portugal, he took 6th position with 61.44m. In May at the Matseia meeting at GSP stadium, Apostolos achieved his second best throw of his career by recording a mark of 63.89m. A few days later, on 7 June, during the Pancyprian Games, Parellis won gold with a throw of 63.71m., the third best of his career. A third position (62.20m.) at the
Memorial Josef Odlozila meeting in
Prague,
Czech Republic and a silver medal (61.80m.) at the 2014 European Cup Third League at
Tbilisi,
Georgia featured more good throws in the buildup for the
Commonwealth Games in Scotland and the European Championships in Switzerland. In Glasgow, Scotland, on 31 August, Apostolos won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games with a throw of 63.32m, while a few days later with a best throw of 60.32m. the Cypriot athlete took 16th overall position in the
2014 European Championships in Zurich.
2015 After a 40-day training camp in South Africa and a two-week preparation period in the town of Monte Gordo, Portugal, Apostolos kicked off the season in the 2015
European Winter Throwing Cup in
Leiria, Portugal. Speaking to the Press before the event, Parellis set his target at 60 meters, since it was his first competitive event of the year, but eventually managed to throw 65.04m., which gave him the 4th place in the competition and most importantly, a spot in the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. The 65.04m. is Parellis' second best throw in his career. Following his strong start to the season, Apostolos was invited for the first time in his career to compete at an
IAAF Diamond League meet. On 17 May, the Cypriot thrower took part in the
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in China, where he took 7th spot with a best attempt of 61.77m. A few days later, on 23 May, Parellis competed at the
Dakar IAAF Grand Prix in
Senegal, of the
IAAF World Challenge series. He threw a best shot of 61.28m. to take 4th position. The next appearance by Parellis, in the buildup for the 2015 World Championships, came at the
2015 European Team Championships, second league, held at
Stara Zagora,
Bulgaria, on 21 June. With a best throw of 60.27m., Parellis had to settle with third position. Before travelling to China, Parellis competed at his second IAAF Diamond League in his career, in London on 24 July, again taking 7th spot with a best throw of 61.07m. A few days earlier, on 11 July, the Cypriot thrower won first spot at the Madrid IAAF World Challenge with a 60.79m. throw. He also competed at the European Premier Meeting in
Luzern on 14 July taking 4th spot. Next up was the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, for which Parellis travelled to China almost two weeks in advance for better preparation. In the qualification on 27 August, Parellis threw 64.41m., the fourth best of the day, claiming a spot in the final of the
discus event. Two days later, Apostolos had a best throw of 64.55m. which was enough to secure him sixth place in the world.
2016 Following a pre-season training camp in South Africa, Parellis made his season debut with a meeting in Athens, Greece, where he threw 62.95m. to claim first spot in the event of 5 March. Twenty days later Parellis had a 64.77m. throw during an Amateur Athletic Association of Cyprus meeting in GSP stadium in Nicosia, just 23 centimeters shy of the Rio 2016 qualification mark. Parellis spent April at a training camp in Portugal, in preparation for his participation in the IAAF Diamond League series as well as for the European Championships and Olympic Games. At his first IAAF Diamond League meet, on 22 May 2016 at
Rabat,
Morocco, Apostolos had a best throw at 63.46m. A few days later, at the "Heraklion 2016" meeting in the Crete city, Apostolos managed to break his own national record, throwing 65.69m. ==
National Record Progression==