From Australia To Miami: Who Are The Female Maltese Athletes Killing It Abroad Right Now?
Female Maltese athletes get way less credit than they deserve for making us proud in and out of our borders, but the reality is that some of our girls are simply killing it.
Lucrative signings with foreign clubs, traveling to countries near and far in the pursuit of greatness and raking in the golds for Malta’s ever-growing trophy cabinet.
Who are these ladies?
1. Haley Bugeja, Football
17 years of age and undisputed starter for Sassuolo Calcio Femminile, currently tied at second place in the Italian Serie A.
Haley Bugeja is undoubtedly the name lingering on the lips of sports enthusiasts near and far as she continues to tear it up on the field.
Bugeja bagged two assists in her last two appearances with the Serie A giants, if not striking the woodwork twice in her last match. Both matches resulted in a mauling of the opposing team; 6-1 against Fiorentina and 4-0 against Hellas Verona.
Could one argue that they were merely standalone performances? Well, coming off the back of a season which saw an even younger Haley Bugeja finish her season with 12 goals in the bag… it certainly doesn’t look like it.
Her achievements earned her the Atlas Player Of The Year for the year 2021.
Also: bonus points for scoring her first-ever goal against Napoli (disclaimer: the author of this article is a huge Juventus fan).
Both young and packing some serious firepower, could Bugeja be on the path to spearhead Malta’s rise to the next stage of international football?
2. Jenise Spiteri, Snowboarding
Credit: Jenise Spiteri's public Facebook page
Let’s face it, you wouldn’t imagine Maltese people thriving in snowy conditions.
Enter Jenise Spiteri, the 29-year-old Maltese-American who’s set to hit the snow at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Her entry makes her the first-ever Maltese snowboarder to compete in the sport.
Jenise’s snowboarding adventure began at 18, but her Olympic dream did not materialize until a couple of years later, as her talents developed. In fact, she completed her pro halfpipe event at age 22.
She came close to a historic qualification at the 2018 Olympics, having narrowly missed out on qualification then, but not to worry – she’s definitely done it now.
3. Yazmin Zammit Stevens, Weightlifting
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To avid followers of the weightlifting scene, 28-year-old Zammit Stevens needs no introduction, after having represented Malta at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
She was the first female Maltese athlete to make it to the Olympics in her sport.
Stevens is a recipient of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship and has been competing at international level since she was 21 years old. European Championships, Commonwealth Games, you think it – she lived it.
Yazmin Zammit Stevens walked away with the bronze medal in the Commonwealth category at the IWF World Championships, Malta’s second medal at the competition. In competition, her global ranking shot to an impressive 13th in the world, the best ever senior ranking for the country.
4. Tenishia Thornton, Weightlifting
At the tender age of 15, weightlifting badass Tenishia had already medalled twice. And not in some small competition, but in the U-17 World championships. One year later, she placed third in the Commonwealth senior championships, held in conjunction with the World Championships in Uzbekistan, late last year.
Thornton is currently the first ranked weightlifting athlete in her category, having been placed at Diamond level for breaking the most national records, to date.
She is presently competing abroad. And later this year, Thornton will be competing in the Youth – as well as Senior – European and World Championships.
5. Janet Richard, Athletics
Last season, Richard, 23, was part of the Maltese contingent competing at the European team championships in Cyprus.
Later, her prowess saw her take the field in the Championships of the Small States (San Marino), where she bagged Silver in the individual 400m race and a Gold medal in the relay.
Richard is now preparing for the Commonwealth Games, which are to be held in Birmingham. Following that, the Mediterranean Games (Algeria) and finally, the World and European championships, to be held in the USA and Germany, respectively.
6. Jessica Borg Ghigo, CrossFit
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Life as a personal trainer, pharmacist, nutritionist, and mother doesn’t stop 36-year-old Borg Ghigo from dominating the CrossFit Masters domain in Malta.
In November past, Ghigo hit the stage in a German Throwdown classic and shot her way into first place. Come January, she then competed at the Wodapalooza Masters tournament in Miami, having placed fourth out of 30 total competitors.
Important to note: the above competitions entail an arduous process of online qualification before even acquiring the eligibility to compete.
7. Vanessa Attard, Rugby
Photo Credit: Pitchero
35-year-old Attard is currently signed with Haringey Rhinos, London, of whom recently qualified National Conference 1 League following an unbeaten season last year.
During her time there, Attard’s consistent performances have seen her take up the mantle of vice-captain in the team.
Having previously played for Birkirkara FC, Hibernians, Swieqi, and the Malta National Team, there is no question that she has turned herself into an instrumental player that is currently making the nation proud.
8. Colette Sultana, Squash
26-year-old English-born squash player Colette has been based in Australia since 2018, after having played in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
In her nine-year career so far, she has currently tallied no less than 37 ranked tournaments, playing a total of 53 matches.
During her college career in the land down under, Colette won the All American Honour as part of the Squash Collegiate National Championship.
The next big event? The Commonwealth Games this coming July, of which Colette is eyeing a place among the Maltese contingent.
9. Rachel Cuschieri, Football
Credit: Malta Football Association (MFA)
Let’s admit it, most of us dream of playing for Lazio. That is no dream for 29-year-old Cuschieri. It’s a day-to-day reality.
Cuschieri went down in the record books when she became the first female footballer to play professionally overseas when she had left Birkirkara FC to join Cypriot team Appollon seven years ago.
Her journey then took her ever forward, to Belgium’s RSC Anderlecht and even PSV Eindhoven, right before signing for Lazio FC in 2020.
This year Cuschieri smashed another record with the Aquila, after she tallied her 130th appearance at Serie A level: the top tier of Italian football.
10. Sophie Abela, Basketball
Legendary Maltese basketball athlete Abela made history after becoming the first Maltese to win a regional JUCO (Junior College) tournament in the United States.
Currently balling in Colorado, USA, Abela earned a transfer after making a name for herself with Otero Junior College in the year prior.
At the time of her signing, her coach had much to say about what he thought of her potential.
“Sophie has the potential to impact our team in a very positive way. She has the ability to play the point position and create opportunities for her teammates to score, and with her length she can also be a very effective offensive threat at the basket, creating miss matches for opponents. I believe Sophie has the potential to be a very good guard in our conference and will be a great addition to our team.”
And the rest is history, in the making.
11. Maria Farrugia, Football
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Gozitan-born Farrugia donned her football boots at age four, and rose through the ranks of the Malta Football Association’s Valletta Academy and the National Sports School in the years that ensued.
Her talents in local football saw her move to the UK, where she began training with Sunderland AFC’s ‘Foundation of Light’, the biggest charity in the UK.
By 2019, she signed her first deal with Sunderland AFC, eventually making her debut with the club against Blackburn.
Farrugia was named the FA Women’s Championship Player of the Week for the first week of the 2021-22 season, and despite Sunderland’s current mid-table position in the FA Woman’s championship, there is still much to play for.
At 21 years of age, the future looks bright for the young star.
12. Sasha Gatt, Swimming
Sasha is 16 years old and has already broken numerous national records. Last year, she became the first and only Maltese swimmer to achieve an Olympic qualifying time – a time of 17:01:80 in 1500m at the Slovakian Grand Prix.
What kind of training does one need to get these results?
“I train 14 sessions a week, 11 sessions take place in a pool, and the remaining three at a gym,” Gatt said.
“A typical day for me would start at 4:30am with a training session before school. I’m back to training after school and each session is very intensive, usually covering five to seven kilometres.”
In addition to obtaining Olympic B timing, she has also smashed a number of age-group and national records, and even broke her own national record in the 400m freestyle by a margin of five-second with a time of 4:23:33.
In December 2020, she earned a historic qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics, and competed in the 1500m freestyle, achieving a time of 17:00:28.
Later, on the 6th of June 2021, Gatt also made it into the 400m freestyle race with a time of 4:18:58.
What were you doing at age 16?
13. Vladyslava Kravchenko, Swimming
Kravchenko’s name became spoken of in high regard when she became Malta’s first athlete confirmed to compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games.
In 2016, Kravchenko became the first female swimmer and the first female athlete since 1980 to represent Malta at the Paralympic Games.
Some may even remember that she was Malta’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In April, she represented Malta at the British Para-Swimming International Meet where she clocked 1:14.20 in the 50m S5 butterfly final, putting her within the Tokyo Paralympics Games Minimum Entry Time.
Presently, she serves as the Chairperson of the Malta Paralympics Athletes’ Council since 2018. An appointment that followed her having been a youth ambassador for the European Paralympic Committee.
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