It has taken Rebecca Camilleri seven years to come of age in her favourite athletics discipline, the long jump.

Camilleri was still in her teens when she first topped the charts in July 2003. Her jumping then showed such promise that it not only helped her to enter in the record books, but also raised hopes that tiny Malta would soon possess a daughter that would earn respect on the international stage.

What ensued turned out to be a long wait until last March, when another promising jumper, Alessandra Pace, finally managed to exceed that psychological barrier, the six-metre span.

It helped Camilleri in no small way as Pace's rise ensured a healthy training environment - both are coached by the competent Jivko Jetchev - and intensified competition so that the two athletes could progress further, urged on by each other's performances.

This was certainly the highlight of the 2010 National Championships last weekend when Camilleri cleared a handsome 6.22 metres, bettering the previous record set by Pace barely three months ago by 15cm.

Records, indeed, seem in short supply lately as during the two days of competition, no other championship marks were set, let alone on a national level. However, another two new marks were indeed established, both in the U-20 category.

The first came on the opening day when Marija Sciberras, 17, completed the 100m hurdles sprint in 14.88 seconds. Last year, Sciberras managed to do even better but the wind behind her that time was beyond the legal limit.

The other record was set towards the end of the second day, in the triple jump, when Stephanie Alden had a legal effort measured at 11.55 metres, besides another that measured 11.61m which, unfortunately, had to be dismissed, again because of a strong following wind.

The same fate befell Thomas Farrugia in the 200m.

Veteran Mario Bonello, still one of the country's leading sprinters, won the 200m race in the best time of the year. To prove that his win was no fluke, Bonello also won the 100m in a season's best, fending off the challenge of James D'Alfonso and Andy Grech. The latter cleared 6.95m to bag the long jump while D'Alfonso triumphed in his favourite one-lap sprint in a good time of 49.88 seconds.

Many other athletes improved on their showing this season, among whom Francesca Xuereb in the 400m, clocking 56.88 seconds. Alister Vella Stiles, making his comeback from injury, won the triple jump. Pace prevailed in the women's category.

Lisa Bezzina did the double in the 800m and 1,500m, a similar feat recorded by Jonathan Balzan in the longer 5,000 and 10,000m, the latter staged in midweek.

Now all eyes turn to the European Team Competition where the pride of the nation takes on formidable opposition from 14 other European countries. This will be another two-day event at the Marsa Athletic Stadium on June 19-20.