Luca Vella (Open Water Swimming) and Leia Summer Madden (Karate) have been honoured as the winners of the Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award for August.
At 18 years old, Luca Vella clinched his third National Open Water Swimming Championship title, adding to his victories in 2021 and 2023. Throughout the championship, Luca displayed unwavering consistency, remaining undefeated across six races. Five of these races covered a 2-kilometre distance, while the final race spanned 4 kilometres. He completed the last race in 56 minutes and 49 seconds, narrowly beating Sam Camilleri by just 3 seconds.
Conversely, Leia Summer Madden, who celebrated her 13th birthday this month, earned a silver medal by finishing second in the World Karate Federation Youth League held in Cancon, Mexico. This marks Malta’s first-ever medal in this competition. Leia excelled in the Under 47 kilogrammes Category for youths under 14 years old. She advanced through all three rounds but was defeated 7-2 in the final by Elina Balint from the USA. Last August, Thyis Antonelli, another Karate practitioner, won the Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award.
The Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award was given to the recipients by Matthew von Brockdorff, Managing Director and CEO of Atlas Insurance, alongside Robert Micallef, Chief Commercial Officer. The Malta Sports Journalists Association was represented by General Secretary Lorraine Cunningham and Administrator Stephen Azzopardi.
This award is a collaborative effort between the Malta Sports Journalists Association and Atlas Insurance. The judging panel for this award reviews all national and international accomplishments of youths for the month in question, and simultaneously invites local sports associations and federations to submit nominations if they believe any of their under-21 athletes have excelled during that period. All monthly awardees qualify for the annual accolade.
Nominations for this award can be submitted via email to [email protected]. The rules and regulations for this award can be accessed through the link https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/atlas-youth-athlete-of-the-month-rules-and-regulations/
