Track and field competition brought more joy to Team Malta yesterday after twins Francesca and Martina Xuereb achieved an historic podium finish in the 400m final while Nicolai Portelli was again a bronze medal winner over the same distance in the men's event.
Rashid Chouhal was the other Maltese athlete to step on the podium yesterday after placing third in long jump.
These four medals increased Malta's tally in athletics to six, two silver and four bronze, but, more significantly, kept Team Malta firmly on course to meet the MOC pre-Games expectations.
The most notable result of the third day was undoubtedly obtained by the Xuereb sisters. Martina had won a silver medal in this event in Andorra two years ago but Francesca was making her GSSE debut.
In the end, it was newcomer Francesca who won the 'family battle' after dashing past her sister at the finish line to take silver in 55.72. Martina finished third after clocking 56.48.
It was the first time in Malta's GSSE history that two sisters had made it to the winners' podium in the same track and field event. The gold medal went to Cyprus runner Alissa Kallinikou who came home in 53.54 .
"I'm thrilled to have crowned my GSSE debut with a silver medal," Francesca Xuereb told The Times.
"We knew that the Cypriot girl was very strong and the race was run at a very fast pace. But, we kept battling all the way."
"It's a great feeling to be on the podium again, and having my sister alongside me makes it even more special," Martina said.
"These medals ensure an uplifting start to our GSSE participation. We now look forward to getting another good result in the relays."
The men's 400m race evolved into a close contest with five runners fighting for the three medal places in the home straight. Portelli dug in to stave off the late surge of San Marino's Ivano Bucci and clinch third place in 48.72.
Cyprus's Stephanos Hadjoniculao took gold in 47.94 ahead of compatriot Marios Madras (48.02).
'Precious bronze' - Portelli
For Portelli this was his third consecutive GSSE medal after a silver in Malta 2003 and a bronze in Andorra two years ago.
"This medal means a lot to me," Portelli commented. "In the past few months, I almost quit the sport due to personal reasons but Vladimir Duschtenko, my coach, convinced me not to retire. It's thanks to him that I'm standing here today," Portelli said.
"My thanks also go to the MAAA and the MOC who have been very supportive."
Chouhal looked well-placed to strike gold in the long jump after leaping 7.26 in his final jump to go top. However, his hopes were shattered by Luxembourg duo Andrei Mikhalevitch (7.43m) and Patrick Hansen (7.35).
"After an injury-plagued season, a bronze medal is still a positive result," Chouhal said.
"My focus now turns to the triple jump where I hope to obtain another podium finish."
Malta's first representative on the track yesterday was Lisa Bezzina in the 1,500m.
She clocked 4:46.01 to finish sixth in a race dominated by Cypriots Marilena Sofokelous, who took gold in 4:28.86, and second-placed Elpida Christodoulidou (4:34.18).
In women's discus, Antonella Chouhal failed to leave her mark as she finished fifth with 36.88m. The event was won by Cypriot Alexandra Katsia with a throw of 47.84m.
MAAA president Anthony Chircop said the results vindicate the hard work of the association at grassroots level.
"Today's results are no surprise to us," Chircop said.
"When we selected our team, we were aware that the standard of our athletes was high. Martina and Francesca are two of our brightest prospects. They belong to a group of young athletes who are blessed with natural talent on the track and, with the appropriate support, they can achieve sustained GSSE success."
Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that Carol Walsh, who overcame the pain barrier on Tuesday to clinch bronze in 10,000m, will be running the 5,000m race tomorrow. Bezzina will also try to clinch her first medal in Monaco in the same race.