Sans Merci (5)
Czech Republic. The first one was in 2015 when I was the youngest athlete to represent Malta and to get a medal which was a bronze in high jump. The other was last year 2017 when I managed to jump 5.61cm which meant a silver medal and a national record.
Since I am still 15 years old the only international competitions that I am eyeing at the moment are the COJI Games and the Fisec Games, as to participate in the GSSE Games you have to be 16 years old and I won’t be 16 years old when the competition takes place next year.
Rachela, you hail from distant Dingli but nonetheless I can vouch that you train regularly at Marsa not less than three times a week with your parents watching you from the stands. I dare say your family is a highly supportive one and an encouraging one too. How much do you rate the support of your parents and others whom you think are backing you in this sports venture?
I honestly couldn’t rate them. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t probably be where I am today. They’re my backbone and they are always there for me during both bad and good times. The amount of patience, love and support I get from my family is unrepayable . The same goes to my coach Angie Mangion who has been there for me since the start of my athletics adventure. She is the one that never gives up on me and that has always supported me since I was very little. I always feel so lucky to be surrounded by such people.
This year can be a decisive and tough year for you since you have to sit for O Levels exams. At school, I know that you fair very well but O Levels are never an easy task for anyone. What are your plans for this year as regards training and competing vis-a-vis Examinations? Do you think you can manage to train and compete regularly or you have to focus more on the exams?
It’s all about finding balance between the two. You cannot solely train and not study in such an important year of one’s life. You have to be able to juggle between priorities. It’s not easy to see other athletes training and competing in the sport you love whilst you’re at home studying but, if need be I will make sacrifices. After all they’re sacrifices which will definitely help in my future.
Rachela, you are a fine young lady who seeks no attention and limelight. High jump and long jump both need full concentration and the least distraction pre and during the jumps can be decisive. Do you think that being so quiet and peaceful helps during such events?
It really depends on the person itself. I sometimes like to be quiet and peaceful before jumps but I also sometimes like to listen to some music. As regards to during, I always try to be quiet and concentrate on the event so that not to distract other athletes as well as myself. For me it’s really about finding one’s preference.
Rachela, your school embraces the dual career path: Academics and Sports. You are a smart student and a formidable athlete too so I cannot help asking what are your future ambitions in Athletics and in your prospective vocation? What do you think can be improved in Athletics to make that extra leap?
In athletics I obviously aim to participate in the Olympics when I’m older but as well as to continue enjoying the sport itself. Regards to my prospective career I haven’t quite decided yet, but I always have dreamed about finding a job where I can be useful to other people. In fact, one of the many things I have in my bucket list is to participate in some sort of voluntary work. At the end of the day, I would do any job as long as I am happy doing it.
The greatest drawback for me in athletics is probably the facilities we use so that should definitely be improved. They’re not the worst but they’re not the best either. In order to have great professional athletes, the athletes themselves need the proper facilities, professional coaches, more opportunities to go abroad and more financial support.
Another thing which has a huge effect on me personally is the traditional maltese mindset: that we are too small to compete with other countries. No we aren’t. If we have the right facilities, the right financial support and the right mentally to win, there’s no reason why we should not be able to compete with bigger countries.