Malta wins bronze in women's gymnastics, track

Kirsty Caruana, Nicole Pace and Adreana Zammit won Malta’s first ever medal in women’s gymnastics after they grabbed bronze in the women’s team competition at the Small Nations Games.

The Maltese trio totalled an impressive score of 128.100 points to take the lower spot on the podium behind gold medal winners Cyprus (150.750) and Iceland (144.450). Monaco placed fourth on 126.300.

This was the first time that the Malta Gymnastics Federation has won a medal in the women’s gymnastics and the second successive in GSSE competition after Philip Caruaan Turner’s bronze in the Vault in Monaco two years ago.

The achievement of the Maltese gymnasts takes more significance when one considers that the Maltese gymnasts are only juniors at 13 while the other athletes fielded senior teams.

Later, on the track Carol Walsh landed bronze in the 10,000 metres final to cap a positive day which saw the MOC contingent ending the opening day of competition with five medals - one gold and four bronze.

After William Chetcuti's impressive gold medal performance in shooting and the bronze medals from William Vella (air-rifle), Marcon Bezzina and Brent Law (both) judo and the women's gymnastics team all eyes were on the veteran middle distance runner to increase the country's tally of medals and again Walsh did not disappoint. In fact the 45-year-old, managed to hold the pace of runaway leaders Pascale Schmoetten, of Luxembourg, and Iceland's Frida Run Thordardottir for much of the 25-lap race and easily held on to place third in 37 minutes and 39.13 seconds.