A group of Maltese swimmers from the clubs of Neptunes, Sliema and IASIS recently travelled together to take part in the fourth edition of the Piskeo Trophy in Messina, Sicily.

The squad, led by Neptunes and Sliema coaches Gail Rizzo and Stan Catalin respectively, consisted of 15 swimmers between the ages of 11 and 19.

The Piskeo Trophy is held every year in memory of Mirko Lagana, one of the best backstroke swimmers Sicily has ever produced. He died four years ago in a traffic accident at the tender age of 17 years.

As in previous years, the meet was also attended by Italy swimmer Luca Marin, a Sicilian native and a friend of Lagana.

A total of 485 swimmers, from 42 different clubs coming from the regions of Calabria, Sicily, besides Malta, took part. The meet is organised by CUS Messina.

For the second consecutive year, the Maltese gave a good account of themselves and featured among the medal winners.

Nicole Muscat was in excellent form, winning two gold medals (100m freestyle and 50m backstroke). She also landed a silver medal (100m backstroke) in the age group, born 1994/95. In the 100m freestyle (Open), Melinda Sue Micallef clinched gold and Francesca Paolella obtained silver medals. In the 100m breaststroke, the same two swimmers placed second and third respectively.

Young swimmer Matthew Zammit won a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly stroke in the 1995-96 age group.

All the other swimmers in the group turned in a good performance with many bettering their personal best times in various races even though for some it was their first experience.

The Maltese group was headed by Neville Pace, the Neptunes swimming team manager.