Maltese Athletes Win Multiple Gold Medals At Small States Championships In San Marino
Several Maltese athletes won medals, including two gold, at the Championships of the Small States of Europe in San Marino over the weekend.
The biennial event, which was postponed from last year, featured a delegation of 15 athletes representing Malta, many of whom left the event with ribbons in hand.
Most notably, Claire Azzopardi managed to secure gold with an incredible leap of 6.02 metres in the long jump.
View this post on Instagram
Azzopardi became the first local athlete to win gold at the event and also the third Maltese female athlete ever to clear 6 metres in the long jump.
Malta’s second gold medal came from the combined effort of the female relay team consisting of Charlotte Wingfield, Sarah Busuttil, Martha Spiteri and Janet Richard who dominated the race with a 20-metre advantage over other nations’ teams.
Richard, who recently featured in a Lovin Malta interview, also claimed silver in the 400-metres with a season’s best time of 55:88.
View this post on Instagram
As Malta’s athlete of the year, and 400-metre national record holder, Richard is in contention to make it to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year.
Meanwhile, Malta secured its first medal in the throwing events when Bradley Mifsud threw 62.47 metres in the javelin to claim bronze.
View this post on Instagram
Other notable performances include Carla Scicluna, who finished in fourth place in the 200-metres by a mere 0.07 seconds, and Rachela Pace who missed out on bronze in the long jump by just two centimetres.
With the Olympics around the corner, Maltese athletes are being sent off to qualifying events all over the world in the hope of making the cut for Tokyo next month.
Middle-distance runners Luke Micallef and Lisa Bezzina were in Birmingham at the European 10,000m Cup, which featured the likes of Britain’s Mo Farah.
Micallef put on an exhilarating performance, crushing his personal best by 30 seconds with a time of 31’59”48 with Bezzina missing out on her personal best by four seconds.
A total of 40 Maltese athletes will now travel to Cyprus on 19th June to compete in the European Team Championships in Limassol.
Photo Credit: Ottavio Pamantini
Tag an athlete
READ NEXT: She’s Unstoppable! 15-Year-Old Swimmer Sasha Gatt Breaks Another Maltese National Record Over The Weekend
