Team Malta has wrapped up the European Athletics Team Championships in Maribor, Slovenia, with a strong fifth-place finish, matching the result they achieved two years ago in Poland. The team competed in the Third Division, which included 15 countries. Most were small GSSE nations, but some larger ones like Bosnia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan also took part.
Iceland finished first and earned promotion to Division Two, along with Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Malta’s fifth place, just behind Moldova, was especially promising as it included strong efforts from several young athletes, showing good signs for the future of Maltese athletics.
One of the standout performances came from Gina McNamara, who followed up her win in the 800m by also taking gold in the 1500m with a time of 4:27.22. Rachela Pace, who had already won the long jump, added more points with a third-place finish in the triple jump, continuing her excellent season.
Other strong results included 18-year-old Benjamin Salnitro, who placed third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.98 seconds. Nicolai Bonello also took third place in the pole vault (4.35m), and Luke Micallef finished third in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:16.16.
To close the event, Malta’s mixed 4x400m relay team, Nick Bonett, Martha Spiteri, Matthew Galea Soler, and Gina McNamara, set a new national record with a time of 3:26.79.
