Maltese Artistic Swimmers reach finals of the 1st European Youth Artistic Swimming Championships

Malta's Artistic Swimming team continued with heir commitments that took them to Rijeka in Croatia for the 1st European Youth Artistic Swimming Championships & Mediterranean Artistic. Swimming Cup which was open to all LEN and COMEN affiliated federations.

Malta had to contend with tough competition, including Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway, and Italy. Despite the more experienced field of athletes, Malta's performances saw Zea Montfort (Solo), Emily Ruggier, and Nicole Tomic Felice (Duet) proceeding to the finals.

In the preliminary Solo competitions, Montfort's performance saw her finish in 14th place out of 20 competitors in the General Rankings, whilst in the Comen Rankings, she finished in seventh place out of nine competitors.

Similar performances were registered in the duet competitions by Emily Ruggier and Nicole Tomic Felice. The duo managed to beat Bulgaria in the preliminaries enabling them to proceed to the finals.

Malta concluded their commitments in Riejka with an eight place in both the Solo and Duet competitions.

Coach Michelle Hubner was particularly satisfied with the placings achieved in the figures – which are technical elements that are competed in these particular categories. Each category Each age group has a different set of figures attributed to them, including mandatory and optionals. Each figure is judged from the standpoint of perfection. The accuracy of positions and transitions are evaluated, as well as control, extension, speed, height, stability, and uniform motion.

All Maltese athletes performed well in this discipline. In the general rankings, Montfort ranked 95th over 161 athletes, whilst Ruggier and Tomic Felice registered a 99 and 116 ranking respectively. In the Comen Rankings, 82 athletes were taken into consideration with Montfort, Ruggier, and Tomic Felice ranked 59, 61, and 69 respectively.

"We have still a good way to go, but one has to consider the level of experience Malta is competing against. I believe we are very much on the right track and our swimmers are not short of commitment. We look forward to seeing improved results in the forthcoming competitions" explained Michelle Hubner, National Coach.