Sprinters land four medals but no gold on final day

Team Malta sprinters again provided the major satisfactions from track and field events yesterday even though no gold medals figured among the four won on the final day of competition at the Louis II Stadium.

Charlene Attard again finished among the top three in individual events after placing third in the 200m final. She stopped the clock on 24:54... just 0.02 of a second short of the national record she set last month.

Cyprus's Eleni Artymata crossed the finishing line first in 23.39 ahead of team-mate Alissa Kallinikou (24.05). Therese Mallia was fifth in 25.20.

"I'm pleased to have fulfilled my objective of winning a medal in both sprints," Attard told The Sunday Times.

"We knew that the Cypriots were very strong so I needed to be at my best. My time was just outside the national record so I have every reason to be satisfied with my race."

In the men's 200m, Darren Gilford and Mario Bonello failed to make the first three places with Gilford coming home fifth in 22.11. Bonello was sixth in 22.29 but was later disqualified for stepping out of lane. Daniel Aben-zoar-Foule took gold for Luxem-bourg.

Malta's best chance of a gold medal yesterday was in the women's 4x100m. Attard, Mallia, Lara Scerri and Diane Borg were a whisker away from first place but the gritty Borg was beaten by Artymata who gave Cyprus gold in 46.45. The Maltese placed second in 46.65. The bronze medal went to Iceland (47.15).

"Coming so close to the gold medal and seeing it disappear in front of your own eyes is so frustrating," a distraught Borg said.

"Still, we should take heart from our run as, compared to Andorra two years ago, we have closed the gap on Cyprus significantly. Perhaps, we'll beat them on their own ground in two years' time."

The men's quartet, of Gilford, Bonello, Rashid Chouhal and Nicolai Portelli relinquished the 4x100m title when they were beaten by the powerful Cypriots who took gold in 40.69. The Maltese clocked 41.08 ahead of Iceland, 41.37.

In the longer relays, the 4x400m team of Attard, Martina Xuereb, Francesca Xuereb and Borg were third. Cyprus won gold in 3:45.17 ahead of Iceland (3:46.42). The Maltese girls' timing was 3:47.92.

"I'm really angry at how this race went," Attard said. "I was well behind the leading two girls but the one of Monaco pushed me out and we were lucky to have finished the race.

"After that incident it was always going to be difficult... there was a lot of pushing in the race."

In the men's 4x400m relay, Bonello, Portelli, Mark Herrera and Mario Debono just missed out on a medal after placing fifth on 3:18.90. Cyprus were again the winners in 3:12.86 ahead of Iceland, 3:18.06, and Luxembourg, 3:18.65.

In the men's 1,500m, Herrera was seventh in 4:00.31 with Monaco's Brice Etes winning gold in 3:53.95.

Carol Walsh's injury again hampered her medal hopes yesterday as she was forced to pull out of the 5,000m final with six laps to go. Lisa Bezzina, the other Team Malta runner in the race, placed eighth in 18:58.10. Elpida Christodoulidou, Cyprus, was first in 17:16.58.

In the triple jump, Rashid Chouhal finished fifth overall with a leap of 14.35 while Antonella Chouhal was sixth in the shot put with a throw of 10.26m.

Malta Amateur Athletic Associa-tion president Anthony Chircop admitted a thorough evaluation needs to be done after failing to meet expectations.

"Unfortunately, we failed to secure the medals we set ourselves to win," Chircop said.

"There were some athletes who performed below par but there were also some positive surprises that emerged from these Games.

"We have to make a detailed analysis of our training schedules and see how we can improve. We still reckon we've got enough talent to do well at this level but I think we should start planning on a longer term and perhaps make our provisional selections for the next two editions of the Games in Cyprus and Liechtenstein."