Eighteen aquatic sports clubs, close to 400 swimmers with over 2,000 individual entries to the swimming competitions participated in last weekend’s 31st International Easter Meet and National Swimming Championships.
The event which was split between morning and afternoon sessions was held between the 4th and 6th April at the National Swimming Pool in Tal-Qroqq. Morning sessions consisted of Timed Finals for the Easter Meet as well as preliminary heats for the National Championships. In the afternoon the best swimmers competed in Age Group and Open Finals.
The National Swimming Championships Club Trophy was organised based on results obtained by swimmers during individual and relay events held during the National Championships, Sliema ASC obtained the highest number of points in the overall ranking.
Karl Izzo, President of the Aquatic Association of Malta congratulated the swimmers and coaches, thanked the volunteers and all those involved in making the Championships a huge success. Mr Izzo also spoke about his commitment towards supporting the sport. “The past few days confirmed once again that the interest in swimming is ever increasing. As an Association we are committed towards supporting this sport in the best way possible.” The positive results achieved augur well for what there is in store for the future of swimming in Malta, added Mr Izzo.
Meanwhile Malta’s National Swimming Coach Delon Dannhauser said the Easter Meets and National Championship were an opportunity for the clubs to showcase their work throughout the year. “Coaches have been working towards these championships consistently with their swimmers. We have had some great results and races. As National Coach I am pleased to see the level of swimming in Malta is consistently rising and I look forward together with the ASA to continue working and implementing development plans which we have been working on.”
Records achieved during the event included:
- Men, 100m Freestyle: Matthew Satariano, 54:14, Easter Meet Group E
- Men, 200m Freestyle: Matthew Satariano, 2:00.19 Easter Meet GroupE
- Men, 200m Medley: Matthew Satariano, 2:16.03 Easter Meet Group E
- Men, 200m Medley: Matthew Satariano, 2:14.10 Age Group Record Group D
- Women, 800m Freestyle: Sasha Gatt, 9:00.38, Easter Meet Open
- Women, 1500m, Freestyle: Sasha Gatt, 17:10.13, Easter Meet Open
- Women, 50m, Butterfly: Michela Portelli, 28.04, National Record
- Women, 50m, Butterfly: Michela Portelli, 28.00, National Record
- Women, 100m, Butterfly: Michela Portelli, 1:03.15, National Record
