Whenever an athlete is asked why they like their particular sport, the reply tends to be rather standard.

For many, it is simply the fact that they were good at it, while for others it is down to the sense of well-being that it provides. The reply Luke Farrugia offers, then, is both novel and refreshing.

For the young athlete, who has been competing in both the discus and shot, what is particularly pleasing is “the feeling that after I throw the discus, I see it flying in the air”.

He does not say so, but un-doubtedly, the results that field marshals have been flagging up after his throws, must also have been a source of satisfaction.

Indeed, last year went even better than he had hoped for.

“Overall 2014 was a good year for me,” Farrugia said.

“My goal was to reach a distance of more than 45 metres and by the end of the year I reached 48.88 which was a personal best for me.”

Height may be an added advantage but I think that it all has to come from the heart

That mark, set in the Joe Gerada Memorial in December, was also a national record in the junior category which Farrugia had broken earlier in the year with a throw of 45.79 metres.

Even so, the records themselves are not particularly important for Farrugia.

“I always work hard to reach the target that I set myself,” he admitted.

“Breaking a record is a plus along the way. Having achieved a record is a good feeling; I tend to celebrate with some relaxation time and food.”

It is an honest sentiment that befits an athlete who is rapidly emerging as a star performer in a sport he has been practising for almost a decade.

“I took up athletics when I was 10. I wanted an individual sport since I am more comfortable this way than in a team sport and athletics seemed a good idea,” he recounted.

“In the beginning I tried all of the events. However, throwing events were the ones in which I fared best and preferred.”

According to Farrugia, the most important characteristics of a thrower are to be fast, strong, flexible and explosive.

“Height may be an added advantage but I think that it all has to come from the heart,” he said.

“My technique is pretty good, in general. I feel that I might need to improve slightly on my strength and speed but these get better with time.”

His current training regime, naturally, is focused on enabling him to make that improvement.

“I train six times a week and have a day of rest,” he explained.

“Three days a week, those training sessions are focused on throwing at Marsa.”

Local field events have, traditionally, been lacking in quality which was a source of frustration to those who felt they needed a higher level of competition in order to push themselves harder.

And, whilst the situation has been improving of late, it is not something Farrugia thinks about.

“I don’t really think about that.

“What is important to me is how I perform and the other competitors don’t really affect me,” he remarked.

That said, taking part in competitions that feature foreign athletes, as he has in the past, does help.

“They increase my motivation because I get the opportunity to compete with other throwers from different countries who have the same standards as me,” Farrugia reckons.

Those standards are continuously rising so it is hardly surprising to find that his ambitions for this year are quite high.

“Of course I want to do better than I did in 2014,” he said.

“This year, my main aim is to reach a distance of 53.80m to qualify for the European Junior Championships.”