“It has been a great year.”

Often in sport you come across people who only see the empty half of the glass... those who keep thinking about the one negative result rather than the good ones. It is refreshing, therefore, to come across the effusive positivity of Rebecca Sarè.

“It has been a very long season but a special one indeed,” she repeats as she looks back on what she has managed to achieve during 2015.

The main target of the year for Malta’s leading triple jumper was inevitably the Games of the Small States of Europe in Iceland.

“Two years ago I won a silver medal, so I must admit that the pressure was a constant during my preparation,” Sarè said.

“I wanted to defend the medal and come back home with another positive result.

“At the same time, I was following the progress of the Icelandic and Cypriot athletes so I knew that I was going to face tougher competition this time round in Rey-kjavik.”

This knowledge armed her with the realisation that she needed to work even harder.

“It was still early in the season so my coach and myself decided to start competing abroad in order to gain more experience for the bigger events,” she said.

I’m a very goal-oriented person and my target is always to improve my record

“The main preparation was focused on the triple jump. We introduced new drills during the sessions, together with a strict diet to keep weight to a minimum.”

The coach who helped her during her preparation – Jivko Jetchev – is also the one who had introduced her to athletics.

“He used to do school visits to promote athletics and I was chosen by him during one such visit when I was still in primary school,” Sarè explained.

“I would not have been able to achieve what I achieved this season without the support of my coach and team-mates who help me to push through those hard sessions,” she added as she thanked her family, boyfriend, her employers at Ixaris, the MAAA, MOC and KMS.

That ambition translated into a very clear goal from the GSSE “I wanted another medal!”

“On the start list I was in fourth position with the first two having personal bests of over 13 metres, a level which was never experienced before in the history of women’s GSSE triple jump,” Sarè said.

“So I must admit the pressure there was bigger than in 2013.”

Even so, she managed to win bronze, a result that was already confirmed before she went in for her final jump.

“I did produce my best jump of that competition on my last attempt with a leap of 11.96m. However, it wasn’t enough for me to claim the silver medal on the day,” Sarè said.

“Nevertheless, I was still proud with a bronze medal as the competition was more difficult than in 2013. The fact that I managed to reach a podium position was a special moment.”

Baku experience

Sarè’s finest jump of the season came earlier in March when she hit the 12.23m mark.

However, there was the feeling that she could do better at the European Games in Azerbaijan.

“In Baku, I felt I was ready to produce another best jump,” she agrees.

“Baku offered the right surroundings for me – 14 athletes and a superb Olympic stadium... the right environs to increase the adrenaline rush.

“On my last attempt in Baku I managed the longest jump for that day but 12.13m was not what I had expected really.

“Initially I was sad that I didn’t manage to improve my national record (which stands at 12.26m) but that’s athletics.”

By her own admission, that national record is “always on my mind. I’m a very goal-oriented person and my target is always to improve my record.”

Indeed, she did manage to beat it later on during the season only for her effort to be nullified due to a tail wind that was just too strong.

Rather than dwell on that, however, Sarè chooses to look forward.

“I cannot wait to see what the next season will bring,” she said.

“My ambition is to be the first Maltese girl to clear 13m in triple jump and will keep pushing myself to reach this ultimate goal.

“I am eager to experience more high-level competitions abroad and, perhaps, win more GSSE medals for our country.”

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