A team of 14 young athletes recently represented the country at the annual European Kids Athletics competition held in Brno, Czech Republic.

The Malta Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) squad returned home with an impressive haul of 10 medals, five of which gold.

This year, the meeting attracted over 1,500 athletes from a host of eastern European countries along with other representations from Italy, Cyprus and Malta.

Although international participation in the Brno competition continues to increase each year, the Maltese athletes showed they can compete against others of their own age.

Alessia Cristina, competing in the 2003 category, was the star of the MAAA team after winning two individual golds, in the 60m and 150m sprints. Her time of 7.87 in the 60m, in particular, was quite impressive for her age.

Cristina anchored a very talented 4x60m relay team, that also included Rachela Pace, Sarah Chouhal and Kayleigh Chetcuti, to a stunning first place.

Sean Spiteri, competing in the 2002 category, also clinched gold in the 300m in a time of 37.81 and the other first placing for the Maltese team was attained by Kurt Zahra (2003). He struck gold in the 150m race.

Elaida twins, Omar and Jacob, showed great form at the European Kids Athletics meeting.

After winning bronze in the 60m race (2001) in a time of 7.28, Omar placed second in the 300m, in 36.56, getting the better of his brother Jacob who had to settle for the bronze.

The Elaida duo then teamed up with Sean Spiteri and Krestien Micallef to race home in third place in the 4x60m relay.

In addition to the medals won, there were other athletes in the MAAA team who achieved personal best times, showing that the competition in Brno continues to provide an excellent platform for young athletes to fulfil their potential in track and field­.