Malta participated in the Pre-Olympic Tournament held in Madrid, Spain this week. This was the final competition before the Paris Olympics and many countries used it as preparation for their athletes. Among the participating countries were the United States, Kazakhstan, Germany, Canada, Poland, France, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and many others.
Malta was represented by two wrestlers, Gary Giordmaina in the 57kg category and Nico Zarb in the 74kg category. Gary Giordmaina had a great start, defeating Canada’s Joshua Skory with a clear victory. He dominated the bout and was never in danger. In his second match, he faced Darien Cruz of Puerto Rico, who had already qualified for the Olympics. Gary also started off well but unfortunately, an injury during the match forced him to retire in the semifinal, ending up in fourth place, just missing out on the Bronze medal.
In the 74kg category, Nico Zarb faced American wrestler Quincy Monday, who eventually won the Gold in this category. In the Repechage round, Nico faced Polish wrestler Szymon Wojtkowski in a tough match, but unfortunately lost by a narrow margin. Overall, Malta finished in twelfth place out of sixteen countries, placing ahead of many more experienced countries such as Finland, Sweden, Belgium, and Serbia. Jesmond Giordmaina was the national coach while Abraham Vassallo served as a referee, overseeing several important finals.
This participation would not have been possible without the support of the Maltese Olympic Committee and SportMalta.
