Thea Parnis Coleiro continued her impressive development with a standout performance during Athletics Malta’s Challenge Meeting on 1 May. The Rush AC athlete clocked 24.17 seconds in the 200m, setting new national records for both the Under 20 and Under 18 categories.
This followed another record-breaking performance the previous weekend, where she claimed the same age-group records in the 100m with a winning time of 11.79 seconds. Already qualified for the upcoming Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), Parnis Coleiro finished ahead of Pembroke’s Claire Azzopardi (11.87s) and Alessia Cristina (12.39s).
In the men’s 200m, Pembroke’s Beppe Grillo continued to dominate the sprint events with a strong win in 21.26 seconds, narrowly ahead of Matthew Galea Soler (La Salle, 21.79s) and Graham Pellegrini (21.98s).
Kayleigh Anne Ellul also delivered an excellent showing following her double bronze medal success at the International School Games in Serbia. She set two new Under 16 national bests — 12.42 seconds in the 80m hurdles and 1:06.58 in the 400m hurdles.
Among other notable performances, Matthew Azzopardi of La Salle claimed victory in the 800m with a time of 1:58.45.
Athletes will return to competition on 17 May for the final Challenge Meeting ahead of the National Championships.
