Result is second-best performance in biennial Games
Team Malta enjoyed a very successful final day of competition in athletics, as our track and field representatives secured one gold and five silver medals, sealing a glorious week of sport for our colours in Andorra.
The Maltese contingent ended the Games with 55 medals – 13 gold, 24 silver and 18 bronze – a tally that not only fulfils the Maltese Olympic Committee’s pre-set goal of achieving its best performance in a foreign GSSE, but also secured Malta’s second-best-ever display in GSSE as they superseded the 2003 edition held in Malta where the team won 11 gold medals, 18 silver and 15 bronze.
The performance of the day in athletics belongs to Beppe Grillo after he stormed to the gold medal in the 200 metres final with a very impressive performance.
The young sprinter completed the distance in 21.21 seconds and finish ahead of Iceland’s Kristofer Thorgrimsson (21.42) and his fellow compatriot Kolbeinn Hodur Gunnarsson (21.63).
“The 100 metres was a bit of a disappointment for me and for my coach,” Grillo, who took bronze in the sprint race in Andorra, said.
“That was not the result we had worked for, but it showed that I need to work on controlling my emotions during the race. However, we focused on the 200m and decided that I had to go for it right from the start, and it worked out well.
“Something that we learnt when competing in the 200m was that we need to come out fast, as if you want a fast time, you need to run fast from the start, it’s still a sprint and you need to be fast in every second of the race.
“My coach and I believe that in the 200m I have a higher potential, and we will be working hard in the coming months to ensure I can reach higher objectives.”
In the women’s race, Thea Parnis Coleiro just missed out on a second medal when placing fourth, clocking a time of 24.68. The gold medal was won by Livia Fotopulou (23.37) ahead of San Marino’s Alessandra Gasparelli and Eir Chang Hlesdottir, of Iceland.
Rebecca Sare won a silver medal in the triple jump with a best leap of 12.38, finishing 11 centimetres behind gold medallist Melody Koffi, of Luxembourg.
Anna Lensment, of Luxembourg, took bronze in 11.77m.
“I’m a bit disappointed for not winning gold as I surely had the potential to challenge for top spot,” Sare said.
“I had a very good jump at the start, which was a safe jump, but I couldn’t manage to improve on that distance and I will have to settle for the silver medal. But I am honoured to have brought just another medal for Malta, as here, it’s not just winning for myself but for my country.”
In the men’s race, Ian Paul Grech and James Armani failed to medal as Grech was fourth with a leap of 14.52 metres, 14 centimetres behind the bronze-medallist Gudjon Thorsteinsson (14.66). Armani was sixth on 14.36m.
The gold medal was won by Grigoris Nikolaou, of Cyprus, with 15.11.
Gina McNamara won the silver medal in the 5,000 metres race when she crossed the finish line in 17 minutes 7.30 seconds.
McNamara finished behind Andorra’s Jessica Martin in 16:42.94 and ahead of Alicia Sophie Finnish, of Cyprus, in 17.13.94.
“I am so pleased to have won another medal for Malta,” McNamara said.
“It was a very tough race, but I tried to stay close to the Cyprus girl as the Andorra girl was simply too fast. My plan worked perfectly as I sprinted ahead in the final 300 metres to get the silver medal home.
“It’s always great to be at these Games and this edition was particularly satisfying for me to see so many young athletes emerge and no doubt Malta has a bright future in the sport.”
Malta enjoyed a lot of success in the relay events as the 4×100 metres men’s team, who was shorn of a number of top sprinters, still managed to challenge for gold.
Kurt Zahra, Beppe Grillo, Luke Bezzina and Matthew Galea Soler produced a storming run to cross the finish line in 41.13. The gold medal went to San Marino in 40.99.
Their women’s counterparts also placed second as Claire Azzopardi, Janet Richard, Thea Parnis Coleiro, and Alessia Cristina just missed out on gold when clocking 46.07, 0.25 slower than Cyprus.
The other medal came from the 4×400 men’s relay team as Nick Bonett, Isaac Bonnici, Jared Micallef and Matthew Galea Soler won their heat in 3:13.71 but were denied gold as Luxembourg, who won the first heat, were a mere 0.01 faster.
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