Attard, Gilford sprint to silver in 100m

Maltese sprinters stormed into the limelight on the opening day of the track and field programme at the Louis II Stadium yesterday after Darren Gilford and Charlene Attard placed second in the 100m finals.

On the longer distance, Carol Walsh's bid for gold in the 10,000m race was blighted by a nagging foot injury but the veteran ace still managed a creditable third to add another medal to her GSSE collection.

In the men's 100m, Gilford was the only Maltese to make it to the final after finishing second in his heat in 10.78. Neil Borg failed to make the cut after placing sixth in his heat in 11.17.

The final was a tight contest with six runners sandwiched in a split 0.10 of a second.

After a thorough check by the judges, the gold medal was awarded to Protromos Katsantounis, of Cyprus, in 10.66... a mere 0.03 seconds faster than Gilford who clocked 10.69.

The bronze medal was won by Daniel Abenzoar-Foule, of Luxembourg, in 10.71.

"It's a superb result for me given the circumstances today," Gilford told The Times.

"Running the 100 metres against such a strong field is overwhelming and having to race from the outer eighth lane makes it even tougher."

Attard came into the Games as Malta's fastest woman after breaking the 12-second barrier to set a new national record.

Yesterday, she confirmed her excellent form when squeezing between fast Cypriots Eleni Atrymata (11.58) and Melina Melenaou (12.26) to place second and collect her first GSSE medal in 100m.

"It's a great feeling to do so well in the 100 metres," Attard said. "Two years ago I was gutted to have finished sixth, but this time I more than made up for that upset."

In the 10,000 metres, there were heightened expectations among the Maltese that Walsh and Lisa Bezzina could repeat the one-two finish they achieved two years ago. However, in the end Team Malta had to be content with a single bronze medal won by Walsh in 37:31.07. Bezzina was fourth in 38:52.03.

Despite missing out on gold, Walsh, 44, was still satisfied to have finished inside the medals' zone.

"Given the circumstances, I think I should be happy with this outcome," Walsh said.

"My race was in doubt because of a foot injury. After the second lap my foot was hurting but I was not prepared to go down without a fight."

In the 800 metres final, Mario Debono just missed out on the podium when he placed fourth in 1:53.22. Mark Herrera was ninth in 1.57.55. The gold medal was won by Monaco's Brice Etes (1:51.29).

New javelin record

Jean Paul Callus set a new national record in the javelin final when clearing 63.89m in one of his tries. However, that effort was not enough for him to win a medal as he finished fifth overall. Rese Michlig, of Liechtenstein, took gold with a throw of 71.68m.

Nikolai Portelli and Debono both made it to the final of the 400 metres after qualifying from their respective heats. Portelli was second in 48.93 while Debono placed fourth in 50.16.