Tamara Vella... the rising star of Pembroke Athleta

Over the last few years, the ventures with selecting young athletes for international competition have proved time and again that, at least in the formative years, the Maltese pick is as good as that of the same age from larger countries.

The Malta Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) has now scored well at Crystal Palace (England), Tullamore (Ireland), Corfu (Greece), Sicily and now in the very heart of Europe, in Brno (Czech Republic).

Besides the encouraging haul of medals won, Malta's young athletes managed to record personal best times and, above all, raised their profile on numerous occasions by establishing national records.

Pembroke Athleta athletes featured prominently in all these occasions except in the Island Games in Corfu where there was no club representation.

With a tally of three silver medals in the European Kids Games, two in the jumps and the relay junior team, Tamara Vella, the latest star to shine brightest in the Athleta camp, is no newcomer to records.

However, this was her first on foreign soil. Yet another success story to emerge from the fold of coach Jivko Jetchev, whose portfolio includes Darren Francis Gilford and Rebecca Camilleri among many others, Vella produced such a scintillating performance in the high jump event in Brno that she finished just one centimetre short of Malta's national record - at the tender age of 13.

In fact, this year Vella had already bettered the high jump height three times and the long jump distance twice.

Other commendable exploits this year in the sprints and hurdles pale in comparison with her jumping but no one will be surprised when she makes the breakthrough in those events as well.

What was remarkable in Brno was the measure by which she surpassed the record height - at 1.57 a full 10 centimetres added on to her record jump in the National Championships.

For the people who know Vella, there is no doubt whatsoever that win she certainly will, in the many years to come.