Fleri Soler - 20-year connection with the Games

Jean Paul Fleri Soler's involvement in the GSSE goes back 20 years when he made his first appearance for Team Malta in Monaco '87.

All debuts are difficult but Fleri Soler went on to beat the jitters and win a bronze medal in boardsailing after finishing behind team-mate Chris Grech for a remarkable result for Malta.

Two years later in Cyprus, Fleri Soler was on course to win gold. He led after the opening two races of the boardsailing competition but then a lack of wind forced organisers to scrap the event.

However, Fleri Soler made up for that upset in Malta '93 when he topped the windsurfing competition ahead of Avraam Koutsavakis, of Cyprus, and Malta's Andrew Wilson.

That was Malta's first gold medal in GSSE water sport.

Since then, Fleri Soler turned his attention to coaching youngsters in sailing. In Monaco, he will be responsible for the Optimists team. No doubt, his past experiences will come in handy when training his team members before competition time.