[attach id=234324 size="large"]Elise Pellegrin[/attach]

We all agree that it’s great for Malta and for Elise Pellegrin, who is representing the island, to take part in the Winter Olympics (The Times, January 31).

However, some time back, my niece Chantel Zarb Cousin, who is a US citizen and was then one of the top skaters in the US, was not granted permission to participate in the Winter Olympics under the Maltese flag, on the grounds that “it does not snow in Malta”.

Notwithstanding all the efforts by the Maltese Olympic Committee and others to have the ban lifted, the appeal was adamantly rejected. This was a bitter disappointment, considering the banality relating to the lack of snow in Malta given as the reason. It was particularly galling, as a toboggan team from Africa was eventually allowed to participate in the Winter Olympics, and, as everyone knows, it snows in Africa all year long!

Apparently, it has also snowed in Malta, hence the permission granted to Malta to participate this time round.

I wish Ms Pellegrin every success.