The Maltese Olympic Committee has announced the athletes who will represent Malta at the 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), which will take place from 20 to 26 July in Skopje, North Macedonia, and Osijek, Croatia.
The EYOF is a major event for young athletes aged 14 to 18, and will welcome over 4,000 athletes and officials from 50 European countries.
Malta will compete in four sports with a promising group of young athletes. Thea Parnis Coleiro will take part in athletics, and Sophie St John will compete in artistic gymnastics. Both athletes recently had strong performances at the Games of the Small States of Europe in Andorra.
In a first for Malta, Jeremy Gatt will represent the country in badminton, marking Malta’s debut in the sport at EYOF. Michela Scerri and Alycia Cassar will also make history as the first Maltese athletes to compete in taekwondo, in the -44kg and -63kg categories.
The athletes will be supported by their coaches: Rachid Chouhal (athletics), Natalija Berehova (artistic gymnastics), Matthew Haynes (badminton), and Ditmir Vadinaj (taekwondo).
Triathlete Kai Azzopardi will attend the event as Malta’s Young Ambassador. He will join 21 other ambassadors in encouraging athletes to embrace the values of the Olympic Movement and look beyond the competition itself.
Team Malta will be led by chef de mission Charlene Attard. Maltese Olympic Committee president Julian Pace Bonello will also join the delegation as a guest of the North Macedonian National Olympic Committee.
Thea Parnis Coleiro (athletics) and Jeremy Gatt (badminton) have been chosen as Malta’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony on Sunday 20 July.
About the European Youth Olympic Festival
The European Youth Olympic Festival is the largest multi-sport event in Europe for young athletes aged 14 to 18. Held every two years and organised by the European Olympic Committees, it gives youth athletes the chance to compete at a high level and experience the spirit of the Olympic Movement. The event promotes fair play, cultural exchange, and friendship, offering a valuable introduction to international competition in a setting similar to the Olympic Games.
