Malta came in second overall from 16 countries in the Athletics Small Countries Championship in which 350 athletes and officials from 17 countries participated, along with the Maltese contingent.
Malta also won a clutch of medals, with athletes Claire Azzopardi and Janet Richard winning a gold medal; Daniel Saliba and Beppe Grillo, silver medals; and Peppijna Dalli, Charlotte Wingfield, Dillon Cassar and Roberta Schembri, bronze medals in the athletics disciplines in which they participated.
The women’s relay team also came in first, with athletes Claire Azzopardi, Carla Scicluna, Charlotte Wingfield and Janet Richard winning the gold medal, while the men’s relay team won in second place and so athletes Steve Camilleri, Beppe Grillo, Matthew Galea Soler and Ben Micallef win the silver medal.
In addition to the athletes and their accompanying delegations, there were high-level international delegates for the Championship in Malta, including Dobromir Karamarinov (President of European Athletics), Libor Varhanik and Jean Garcia (Vice-Presidents of European Athletics ), Dimakos Panagiotis (Member of the European Athletics Council), and Frank Carreras (President of the Athletics Association of Small States of Europe – AASSE).
The Championship was held yesterday in new and modernized facilities at Matthew Micallef St John Stadium in Marsa. Work is currently underway on the second phase of the stadium’s infrastructure modernization, which is being carried out with an investment of more than € 3 million financed by SportMalta. “Malta is establishing itself as a center for sport, a country that hosts European and International championships in modern and international facilities”, said the Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Clifton Grima’s Innovation at the opening of the tournament. He wished all the athletes especially the Maltese contingent. “Keep the Maltese flag in front of your eyes to continue to honor our country,” said Minister Grima.
At the opening of the tournament, the Secretary General of Athletics Malta Aldrin Cassar spoke about the organization of this event of caliber which was one of the biggest challenges that Athletics Malta has taken on in its history. . “The Association has been working for two years on both the logistical and the sports aspect to ensure the most competitive team for our country. We believe that these efforts will contribute to a successful event, “said Cassar.
In a comment after the end of the Championship, Minister Grima congratulated the athletes who finished in the first places and also all those who took part.
CSSE 2022 and the Maltese National Team are supported by the Maltese Olympic Committee, SportMalta, the Malta Tourism Authority, Eurosport, Medcomms Ltd., Big Mat, Salini Resort and Corporate ID Group.
