Inspirational success deserves support

There were no photographers, television crews or expectant crowds waiting to give them the rousing welcome they deserved, just family and friends eager to congratulate them.

Which is a shame because, much as they would have shied away from such publicity, their achievements merited a rapturous reception.

Last week, Francesca and Martina Xuereb made history for Maltese athletics. By qualifying through the heats of the 400m at the World Youth Championships, they became the first Maltese athletes to make it through a round in a competitive championship at any level.

Francesca, who had lowered her personal best and the national junior record to 55.10 in the first round heat, went a step further by making it through to the final where she finished eighth. And she was unlucky not to be joined there by her sister who also improved her lifetime best to 55.24, and this despite running against a strong head wind of 2.9. Martina finished just outside a qualification spot.

Mark Farrugia, the person who spotted the two when they were still eight years old and who has been their coach since, was understandably excited by what his young charges have achieved.

"An eighth-place finish at the Worlds and coming from island like Malta with a population of 400,000, is a great feat in itself," Farrugia said.

"The Xuerebs' performances have attracted attention by international technical personnel and already there are hints of greater opportunities."

Along the way, they beat the best young athletes over this distance coming from traditional athletics' powerhouses like Italy and the US.

"Martina and Francesca had to beat athletes from countries with populations of several millions to make it to the final," MAAA president Anthony Chircop confirmed. "This simply means that the athletes representing those countries are the best athletes among thousands."

Those athletes are also the future of athletics: a look at the starting list of the athletics' World Championships would reveal that the vast majority of those winning the medals had done so at the World Youth Championships some years earlier.

For Chircop, this highlights the improvement made by Maltese athletics. "Our main objective is to raise the standard of the sport... having two athletes making it to the final stages goes some way towards showing that our standard is improving.

"The fact that we had four athletes who qualified for these games is in itself an achievement, to have someone making it through to the final is an added bonus."

Such success cannot be achieved without determination and hard work.

"They are two dedicated athletes who also happen to have a strong and unyielding courage. One must be as strong in mind as in body to succeed in athletics," Chircop remarked.

Justified praise

Such a ringing endorsement might seem pretentious, but in this case is more than justified.

On the morning after her final, the Xuereb sisters were back out on the track doing their recovery work, as they were on the day they returned to Malta, preparing for their next target - the European Youth Olympic Festival.

And the future is something that their results put sharply into focus. For this success places the burden on those administering Maltese sports - and the authorities - to ensure that there are the proper structures so that future potential is fulfilled.

Coach Farrugia is in no doubt about how this can be achieved. "They need support," he insisted.

"Many may think that this has to be financial but they are wrong. It is moral support that is required first and then we can speak about financing."

There are a lot of issues he feels need improving... having the Marsa track used exclusively by athletes, better weights facilities and the prevailing mentality.

In the end, however, the most important factor has to be the ability to focus exclusively on training.

"When a foreign athlete (in the case of Maltese football and waterpolo) or a foreign coach is employed in Malta these are full timers so why can't our local athletes?" Farrugia pointed out.

"As I said before, this should not be about money but support for athletes whose full-time job should be training. It is already a handicap that Maltese coaches are not full timers themselves but the athletes have to be, otherwise this will hinder our search for long-term success."

And, in case you're wondering why it should be like that, Chircop indirectly provides the answer when he says that their success "tells other young athletes that if Francesca and Martina can do it, so can they!"

For it is the achievements of the few that inspire the masses to take up sport, something that, as the statistics and a glance at the physical well being of Maltese children prove, our country isn't doing well enough.