Simon Spiteri will be aiming to maintain his winning run in the 800m event at the National Championships. Photo: Wally Galea

Athletics Malta will hold its annual Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Matthew Micallef St John Athletic Stadium in Marsa.

The championships are the climax of a busy local track and field season which kicked off in February. They will also double up as the last opportunity for athletes to earn selection for the European Team Championships (3rd League) in Georgia in June.

A number of interesting performances could be in the offing.

In men’s sprints, Kevin Moore, who this year set new national records in the 100m (10.50) and 200m (21.16) in Australia, will be making his first 2014 appearance at Marsa.

Although Moore is set to dominate, it will be interesting to note how many sprinters will dip below the challenging 11-second barrier in the 100 metres.

Long jumper Rebecca Camilleri, who has made a remarkable recovery after a serious injury at last year’s Mediterranean Games, will be seeking to improve on the 6.12m registered this year in Italy.

In the 200m, another leading female athlete, Diane Borg, is favourite to win after achieving a noteworthy seasonal best of 24.92 earlier this month

In the men’s middle distance events, the 800m has seen a number of closely-contested races this season with Simon Spiteri (St Patrick’s) managing to edge his opponents in the final straight.

In the championships, Spiteri will obviously be aiming to extend his winning streak while in the women’s 800m, Lara Scerri (Pembroke), fresh from a promising 2.16.07, is the leading contender.

A keen competition is also expected in the 5,000m between Andrew Grech (Mellieħa) and Ibrahim Hussein (St Patrick’s), while intriguing tussles are also in line in the women’s long distance races.

The throwing events have recently generated considerable interest with new records being set in different events.

Although Lawrence Ransley (Pembroke) and Mario Mifsud (Allcomers) are bound to leave their mark in the shot and discus respectively, up-and-coming youngsters Luke Farrugia (Pembroke) in the junior discus and Bradley Mifsud (Pembroke) in javelin will be eager to show that they are ready to break new ground in field events.

The championships kick off on Saturday and the first event on both days of the competition starts at 2pm.