Record leap... Rebecca Camilleri twice improved the long jump mark at the National Championships . Photo: Wally Galea

This year’s MAAA National Track and Field Championships must certainly rank as one of the best in recent years.

The level in many of the events was consistently high, the participation encouraging and many sections of the stands were quite full.

The performance of Pembroke’s Rebecca Camilleri in the women’s long jump was perhaps the most memorable of the championships.

Not only did she better the national record twice but also achieved a qualifying mark for the 2014 Commonwealths in Glasgow.

Furthermore, her winning jump of 6.41m also propelled her into the 2014 top-50 European rankings.

This is a wonderful achievement for this athlete who is currently based in Italy.

The men’s 100m was one of the focal points of the championships.

In the final, Steve Camilleri edged past Pembroke team-mate Jeandre Mallia to win in a personal best of 10.81, while Mallia clocked a very creditable 10.87. Junior runner Luke Bezzina (All-comers) was a strong third in a time of 11.00.

The men’s 800m proved to be one of the most exciting races, with the first six runners all dipping below the two-minute barrier.

Matthew Croker (Savio), better known for his 400m exploits, led at the bell but as the athletes approached the 600m mark, Mark Herrera followed by Simon Spiteri (St Patrick’s) struck for home.

In the final straight, Herrera strode impressively towards the finish line to post a winning time of 1.56.81 while Spiteri was second in 1.58.23. The 800m was Herrera’s third gold in the championships after having won both the 1,500m and the 3,000m steeplechase.

Kevin Moore’s performance in the men’s 200m was, however, the best technical achievement in the men’s events. Moore powered strongly out of the blocks and had already built an unassailable lead as he came out of the curve.

In the final straight, Moore maintained his stride and crossed the finishing line in a new championship record of 21.27. Steve Camilleri was second in a creditable 22.25.

The men’s 400m was won by Reece Dimech (Starmax), a Maltese athlete who resides in Britain. The powerfully-built Dimech clocked 49.08 to edge past Croker who also registered a good time of 49.64.

The women’s 100m proved to be a keenly-contested event.

Rebecca Camilleri made an excellent start and by halfway appeared to have built a solid lead over Diane Borg (La Salle). However, Borg clawed her way back and stormed past her rival in the final stages.

Borg’s winning time of 12.06 was also a seasonal best. She achieved a double by winning the 200m in a good time of 24.90.

On Sunday evening, the women’s 4x100m national team made up of Borg, Camilleri, Rebecca Sare and Annalise Vassallo, won the plaudits when stopping the clocks on 46.78 to achieve the MQS for the Commonwealth Games.

This was a just reward for a group of dedicated sprinters who had been working together for a number of weeks.

Other noteworthy performances were those of Ian Paul Grech (Pembroke) who won both the long jump and the triple jump in 6.94m and 14.12m respectively, and that of Sare (Pembroke) who confirmed that she is Malta’s leading triple jumper with a leap of 11.96m.

In the middle and long distance events, Lara Scerri (Pembroke) and Giselle Camilleri (St Patrick’s) dominated the 800m and the 5,000m.

Mona Lisa Camilleri (AS Libertas) achieved a double by winning the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase. In the men’s 5,000m, Jonathan Balzan (St Patrick’s) was a worthy winner.

In the men’s throws, Rachid Chouhal (AS Libertas) gave proof of his all-round athletic ability by winning the men’s hammer throw in a new national and championship record of 35.76m.

Lawrence Ransley (Pembroke) topped the shot in 14.52m while Mario Mifsud (All-comers) was the winner in the discus with a throw of 39.21m.

Bradley Mifsud (Pembroke) set a new national and championship junior record in the javelin with a throw of 59.06m and Luke Farrugia (Pembroke) also registered a new mark for the discus with 45.79m.

In the women’s throws, Antonella Chouhal (AS Libertas) dominated by winning the shot, discus and hammer, while victory in the javelin went to Joanne Mifsud (Pembroke) who set a new championship record to win the event in 37.72m.

Emerging talent

In the youth category, Nicole Attard Glivau (St Patrick’s) confirmed her potential by winning the 100m, 200m, 400m and the 75m hurdles while Giles Benjamin (La Salle) placed first in the 100m and 200m.

Catriona Cuschieri (St Patrick’s) and Edward Bezzina (Stella Maris) also completed a double by winning both shot and discus with the latter also managing a championship record in the shot.

Ian Pace (Pembroke) was the winner in the 800m and the 300m but lost to Isaac Bonnet (Pembroke) in the 1,500m.

In the cadets, there were a number of championship records.

Carla Scicluna and Martina Mamo (Pembroke) set new records in the 100m and the shot, while among the boys Elaida Jacob (Starmax) in the 100m, Philip Grech (La Salle) in the shot, and Liam McKay (National Sports School) in the high jump, all broke the existing records.