Indoor Pistol Shooter Officially Named Malta’s First Athlete Competing At Tokyo Olympics
Indoor pistol shooter Eleanor Bezzina is the first local athlete to officially be representing Malta at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Bezzina will be competing in the 10m and 25m indoor shooting events. Her participation in the 2020 Olympics was made possible through the Tripartite Commission Invitational, which offers National Olympic Committees the opportunity to send top athletes in their respective sport who have not managed to qualify.
“This past year has been very challenging since all international competitions were cancelled one after the other,” Bezzina said. “Furthermore, we had no access to training facilities. I tried to find alternative methods of training to keep my technique in shape though it is quite different from my actual sport”.
Matthew Mirabelli
Bezzina is currently in Croatia competing at the European Championships. She placed 16th out of 70 in the 10m Air Pistol event, narrowly missing the final by just two points.
She will compete next Monday and Tuesday in the 25m Pistol event.
“The ticket to Tokyo has been an immense boost, and it pushes me to train even harder, focus more, and to prepare to give a good performance,” she continued.
The Malta Olympic Committee is expected to announce more athletes will be representing Malta at the Tokyo Olympics, including two places in swimming events and one in athletics.
One potential candidate is 15-year-old swimmer Sasha Gatt, who already achieved Olympic B Qualification time.
“The road to the Olympic Games is challenging enough without having to contend with a pandemic,” said MOC President Julian Pace Bonello. “Yet all Olympic hopefuls have been taking this in their stride and working hard. We hope that we will be in a position to announce more names in the forthcoming days”.
Cover Photo Credit: Matthew Mirabelli
Tag an athlete
READ NEXT: Freedom Day Regatta 'Victim' Of Sports Ban As Association Calls Out Health Authorities For Failing To Issue Permit
