Encouraging results at Marsa, St Aloysius

With the preparations for the big event in June now in full swing, Malta's own talent is rising to the occasion and matching the faith and continued support extended by the authorities, officials, the Malta Olympic Committee and the Malta Amateur Athletic Association.

The two Aggregate Meetings held recently at Marsa and St Aloysius provided the ideal scenario for those not preparing abroad to hone their skills and gain more experience in their meticulous approach.

A full programme on March 1 at Marsa was followed by another meeting two weeks later at the alternative venue of St Aloysius, this due to the long-awaited refurbishing of facilities at Marsa.

Encouraging performances in the sprints were recorded by up-and-coming Celine Pace in the 100 (12.47s) and 200m (25.3s) and other established 'fliers' Therese Mallia, Suzanne Spiteri and Nikolai Portelli.

Rebecca Camilleri and Stefan Mohnani produced other worthy results in the jumps, while in the middle distances Lisa Camilleri and Mark Herrera promise more to come as the season matures.

Following this meeting, and on the basis of their performances in preparation, Darren Gilford and Pace proceeded to the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

The numerous occasions of international competition experienced by Gilford so far in his career clearly held him in good stead at this prestigious meeting.

Coming out of the blocks in a fast reaction time of 0.128, the third best recorded out of 56 competitors in the 60m event, Gilford produced a personal best time of 6.87, only two hundredths of a second away from the national record.

He left two opponents in his wake and finished 42nd overall.

Gilford now hopes to gain sweet revenge on Cyprus's Prodromos, who qualified for the semi-finals in Birmingham after taking second spot, when the two clash again in the GSSE in June.

Pace was the youngest athlete competing in Birmingham and clearly the one most in need of international experience.

Showing true character, especially on the unfamiliar indoor track with its sharp, steep curves, Pace managed a time of 25.93s in the 200m, admittedly outside her best, but nonetheless commendable in her control of reaction and composure where four of her peers, in other heats, were disqualified due to false starts or failing to keep to their lanes.

Pace has already qualified on merit for the fourth World Youth Championships.

Meanwhile, at the new St Aloysius track, albeit in wet wintry conditions, Spiteri produced a time of 12.6s in the 100m and 25.9s in the 200m. Karl Farrugia won the men's 100m event in 10.9s and went on to record 52.6s in the 400m.

Portelli again made his the 200m, this time on 22.4. Alex Busuttil finished the 1,500m in 4.07 minutes.

Conditions were clearly not in favour of the longer distance runners like Busuttil, Charles Cilia and Gerald Grech. In the 5,000m they all recorded times well past the 15-minute mark.

The third Aggregate Meeting, for all categories, will again take place at St Aloysius on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.