The Maltese Olympic Committee honoured the international achievements of local elite athletes and teams during a gala ceremony last night.
With 2019 being a GSSE year it was to be expected that the
majority of awards presented went to athletes forming part of Team Malta in Montenegro, however a substantial number of athletes competing in events other than the GSSE performed well to bring further honour to Malta.
The highest accolade of the night was the Gold Award of which 16 awards were presented.
Here, several 2019 GSSE medallists were rewarded, namely athletics duo Lisa Marie Bezzina and Jordan Gusman and shooters William Chetcuti, Gianluca Chetcuti and Eleonor Bezzina.
The other Gold Award winners were snooker duo Tony Drago and Duncan Bezzina, winners of the European Team champions, Rolex Middle Sea Race winners Elusive 2, European Triathlon Championship medallist Hannah Cutajar, weightlifter Yazmin Zammit Stevens, Kimberly Stanton (karate), Bader Almiloudi (body building), bowlers Sue Abela, Cynthia Frendo Duca and Sara Xuereb as well as table football player Derek Conti.
In a brief address, William Beck, MOC Deputy President and chairman of the MOC Sports Awards Organising team, congratulated the winners for reaching the ultimate goal that every athlete strives for; to be the fastest, to reach the highest, to be the strongest.
He also expressed the Committee’s admiration for those athletes who despite not having made it to the podium still honoured Malta with their level of sportsmanship whenever they competed and emphasized that when the time comes for them to be remembered for their actions, they will be remembered as to how they played the game.
Special guest for the evening was Szilveszter Csollány, former Hungarian gymnast, considered as one of the best gymnasts in Olympic history.
An Olympic medallist following his success in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), he is also a five time World Artistic Gymnastics Champion and is considered to
be one of the world’s renowned gymnastics coaches both in Hungary and in other European countries.
Hall of Fame
Four inductees were welcomed to the Maltese Olympic Committee’s Hall of Fame. The honorees were Gordon Asciak (tennis), the late Gerald DeGaetano (athletics), Alfred Ellul Mercer (Weightlifting) and John Zammit (Cycling).
With the exception of Gerald DeGaetano who sadly passed away in 2018, all inductees are still very active in their respective sports and continue to contribute towards its development and growth.
MOC president Julian Pace Bonello explained that the Maltese Olympic Committee’s mission is to embrace the International Olympic Committee’s values within the local sporting community – this is being achieved through a number of projects such as the Youth Elite Scheme, support for various initiatives through Olympic Solidarity, Anti-doping Education, Gender Equality initiatives among others.
Furthermore, the MOC’s objective is to ensure that Maltese sport continues to develop and grow by offering a professional setup so that our athletes can find the assistance they require to achieve their true potential.