The 2017 National Championships, held recently at Marsa, were a veritable feast of records, 12 in all.
Charlotte Wingfield stole the show on both days of the championships when she set two national records for her performances in the 100m and 200m sprints.
Winning the shorter sprint in a time of 11.54 seconds, Wingfield was 0.15 faster than her own previous record set in the 2015 European Games in Baku.
Wingfield went on to better another national record on her list when completing the 200m in 23.84 seconds.
The first day of competition saw Roberta Schembri setting a championship record in the 10,000m followed by the fine results by Janet Richard (400m) and Mona Lisa Camilleri (1,500m).
On the field, Antonella Chouhal continued with her winning streak, setting a new championship record in the women’s hammer (43.21m), whilst Joanne Vella registered another championship new mark in the javelin – a throw of 42.50m.
A noteworthy performance was also the one produced by Elena Jetcheva in the triple jump.
Although her effort was not a record the result was still of a high standard, in fact, making the grade for selection to the GSSE if she succeeds in obtaining dual citizenship in time for the trip to San Marino. As things stood it was Rebecca Sare who earned her ticket to the GSSE in this particular discipline.
Day Two of the championships saw two more records to complement Wingfield’s success.
The first was registered by Marilyn Grech in the 400m hurdles, posting a time of 1:07.21, and the second by former national team gymnast Peppijna Dalli. She reached a height of 3.30m in the pole vault.
More records were set in the men’s events at the Marsa stadium.
In the triple jump, Ian Paul Grech bettered his own record, established in 2016, while the young Luca Martini proved his mettle when claiming the U-18 national record in the hammer.
The 100m results registered by Luke Bezzina and Steve Camilleri are worth mentioning as both sprinters crossed the finish line under the 11-second mark.
Bezzina produced another solid performance, although short of a record, in the 200m race.
Charlton Debono, the first Gozitan to Malta in athletics at the GSSE, registered a track personal best in the 10,000m whilst Luke Farrugia (discus) and Daniel Saliba (400m hurdles) laid claim to another two championship records.
It was Lawrence Ransley who wrote the most significant history over the weekend though when he was the first Maltese to go past 15 metres with a 7.26kg shot put.
The previous championship best was established over 50 years ago by English athlete E. Byam. He was a member of Atalanta SC, the outfit that dominated local track and field competitions back in the 50s and early 60s.
“With approximately two weeks before Maltese athletes compete in the forthcoming Games of the Small States of Europe, these results give us the confidence that our athletes are well prepared for these Games,” Edwin Attard, president of the Malta Amateur Athletics Association, said.
“The Games will also be a prelude for most of these athletes who will potentially be competing in the European Athletics Team Championships Third League which will be hosted in Malta.
“These Championships will be another opportunity for our athletes to compete against some strong international athletes giving them added international exposure”.