Chetcuti sets national youth record

Up-and-coming athlete Christian Luke Chetcuti stole the limelight last Saturday when setting a new national youth record of 4:15.12 in the 1,500m race.

Chetcuti is having an outstanding season. Having come close to claiming a new record in the 800m several times this season, Chetcuti managed to establish a new mark in the 1,500m as he shaved an impressive seven seconds off the previous best time for his age category.

The second best performance of the day came from veteran Mario Bonello who posted the second fastest time this year for 200m with 22.05s. It is indeed very pleasing to see Bonello perform at such a high level after being a top athlete for over 15 years.

Nicolai Portelli once again triumphed in the 100m, winning in a time of 11.16s with Rachid Chouhal a close second in 11.21s.

It was another close battle in the women's long jump with Angie Mangion edging Alessandra Pace when leaping 5.61m. Pace had a best jump of 5.60m.

Haithem Kisheim was once again a comfortable winner in the 800m, clocking on 1:56.76s. Nicole Gatt, 12, managed another positive performance in the 600m. She improved significantly on her last performance when finishing in 1:42.63s, just two seconds outside the national record.

Daniel Vella, 15, also had a fruitful outing after recording 12.37m in the shot putt.

Last, but definitely not least, was the remarkable performance of Carol Walsh during last weekend's aggregate meet. Walsh ran the 10,000m in 36:57.6s to qualify for the 2009 GSSE in Cyprus.

The National Championships, to be held this weekend at Marsa, present local athletes with one final opportunity to gain a berth in Team Malta for next month's GSSE.