Athletics Malta sets up high-performance National Team structure

Elite athletes to kick-off journey towards GSSE 2023

Despite the setbacks that 2020 has reserved for the Maltese athletics community, the team at Athletics Malta continued with its ongoing work to raise the profile and level of the sport on our shores and beyond and the prepare for the important international objectives of the upcoming years.

While each season brings ample important appointments for Malta’s elite athletes, the longer-term objective is now focused on the Games of Small States of Europe to be held on home soil in 2023, an event which for many athletes could be the apex of their career.

With this target in mind, Athletics Malta has concluded the setting up of a high-performance National team structure. This system will seek to support Malta’s elite athletes in reaching their full potential in time for this event.

With the support of the best and most experienced coaches on the island, a number of event groups have been setup, to ensure a professional guidance providing the best possible pathway to the Games.

Together with the Malta Olympic Committee and SportMalta, Athletics Malta’s technical committee is made up of Technical Director Andy Grech, Head Coach Coordinator Mario Bonello and returning Italian Coaching Consultant Antonio Laguardia.

Over the past few weeks, Athletics Malta was committed into fine-tuning not only the National Team structure but also a serious of ancillary, but important elements, including the adapation of the local calendar of events, allocation of budgets, purchasing of equipment, identification of potential training camps and investment in a sense of comradery to ensure that the 2023 Games will go down in record books.

Thus, the 16th November officially marks the National Elite Athletics team first step on their journey towards the 2023 GSSE games.

The first athletes selected to form part of the National Athletics Team are listed in the attachment provided with this press statement.

Road Running League postponed to 2021

Athletics Malta was scheduled to organize the first race of the National Road Running League last weekend, at L-Aħrax talMellieħa. Despite the strict precautionary measures being followed by the Association and the fact that the majority of permits were obtained, given the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in Malta, the race had to be postponed. The Association will be re-scheduling the event in early 2021.