The sports doctor wi

Dottore, you have an incredible, colourful CV in Sports and in various disciplines too. As mentioned above, you are an all-rounder and notwithstanding this, you excelled in many of them. Athletics, Cycling and Triathlon above all. What are the highlights which really remain engraved in your mind? To tally all this, this October you took part in the Elite Category of the Grid too? From where do you manage to gain such energy and cope with time to tackle sports at such high level and with efficient results?

Many thanks Ray for the elaborate introduction and this kind interview. If I had to pick one highlight of my career it would be my 15th place at the commonwealth Games in 2014, as it was the hardest and highest-level race I’ve competed in, and worked hard for.

In terms of energy, well, the more active I am, the more energy I have it seems and it’s always been like that since I was a young child (just ask my parents what a hard time I gave them!). I believe that my sporting ability has developed through a very good basis in dancing (ballet) since the age of 2 years which helped me develop marked control, agility and co-ordination of my body, thus it made me capable of adapting and learning new techniques and movements in different sports that I enjoy.

Dottore, a recent study by MFA showed that the top 3 Local Sports preferences are Football, Motorsport and Athletics. From a sample of 1008 respondents: 50% follow Football, 8% motor sport and 6% Athletics. We are both very fond of Athletics so let us discuss Athletics. It is true that local athletics has seen a boom in numbers especially in long-distance running. The latter are mainly former track and field athletes, enthusiasts of a certain age who are working and/or their studies are over. On paper we cannot expect to meet certain international standards. On the other hand, at the track and field, we are encountering an exodus by the age of 16 where only a handful pursue to the next level. In your opinion, why do athletes leave their sports at such a crucial age, where they can achieve much more than before? I have been told by some local athletes who used to beat international athletes by the age of 14 but then they see their fellow counterparts competing at high level at the Olympics, Europeans and World Championships and with efficient results? Do you think that we develop our athletes too early for competition or what? Some of our athletes are mainly early bloomers and tend to achieve so much at a tender age and falter when it really matters. What are your views on this?

I am exposed to athletes both locally and internationally. The main difference I see is that on the larger scene, there is more competition to be selected to compete for your county, and this in itself makes one need to ‘work harder’ for that spot. Dedication, commitment and determination to succeed are crucial.

Unfortunately I sometimes see this as one factor as to why athletes do not progress in Malta as they are not prepared to work hard enough in Malta. Another issue may be the lack of appropriate coaches who are able to guide athletes towards long term development.

Some coaches do push athletes too hard, too soon for instant results. Being a good athlete does not equal to one being a good coach.

Abroad, a coach often has to attend university for 3-4 years before they are appropriately qualified, and they are mentored by other top coaches along the way. In some sports in Malta, this is starting to change and we are starting to see younger coaches taking the interest in reading, learning and becoming appropriately qualified.

This will yield better results in the long term, which is a very positive thing. Today’s youth tends to get distracted at the age of 16 due to external factors – studies, work, relationships and weekend ‘entertainment’.

University itself does not contribute at all towards the importance of sport. In the UK, one essential part of university attendance is being part of a sports team, practising different sports, competing for your university and scoring points. It is from here that many junior athletes make the jump towards senior international competition, competing at European, World and Olympic level.

Needless to say, the universities actually support such student athletes to pursue this – both in terms of university attendance and examinations, as well have having specific acknowledgements of their successful athletes in their sporting facilities, magazines, online etc.