Australian-born runner Jared Micallef is on a mission to win Malta’s first Olympic medal.

Micallef, who has Maltese citizenship and runs the 800m race, earned a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after taking the silver at the Australian National Titles as the Olympic qualifiers are known.

But he turned the opportunity down to ensure that he would be able to compete for Malta at future events and is hoping to achieve his goal at the 2024 Games in Paris. 

Malta has never won a medal at the Olympics, with some soul-searching now taking place following the latest Games.

The 23-year-old can trace his Maltese roots back to Valletta, from where his paternal grandparents and young father left for Australia in the 1960s.

The value Micallef puts in his family connections has inspired his decision to compete for the island nation.

“I really made this decision because it’s where my roots are from. My grandma and grandpa moved to Australia with my dad and I know how hard they worked to live and raise a family,” Micallef told Times of Malta. 

“I’m just really honoured to be part of their legacy and show them how great it could be to represent Malta at the next Olympics in France. If I could make a small island nation more known to the world, it would be amazing.” 

When he was younger, he recalls, he felt a lot of pressure over whether it was Malta or Australia that he wanted to represent in athletics.

“I struggled but, after a few years of reflecting on it and working at my sport, I knew that that’s where my heart was because I want to represent Malta to make my family proud,” he said.

Struggle with injuries

Developing a love for athletics as a schoolboy, Micallef has been running since he was 10 years old but in recent years has struggled to compete due to injuries. 

“I never had any injuries when I was younger but, at 19, when I started to push myself harder, I ended up getting middle stress fractures in my feet, which took a very long time to heal,” Micallef said.

He passed through a phase of being uncertain about whether to stick to the sport because “there’s not much money in it” and ended up stopping.

I just know that if I get to the Olympics in three years’ time, I’ll be in the final

“For a whole year, I did not run at all,” he recalled.

“But, I found the experience quite upsetting and I wanted to start running again. It confirmed to me that I really have love and passion for athletics sport. It’s not something I need to do for money or victory but purely to better myself and build my character.” 

Turning down Tokyo 

After a big year in 2020 that saw him finishing second at the Olympic qualifiers in Australia and earn himself a spot in Tokyo, Micallef took a step back with the aim of realising his medal goals for Malta. 

“While I did qualify for Tokyo this year, I made the decision not to go and represent Australia because it would have meant sacrificing the opportunity to compete for Malta in future,” he said. 

Jared has his sights set on Paris 2024. Photo: MT Sports Photography

“It was an enormous decision to make and, when it was time to qualify at the invitational running meet, I decided to pace my fellow competitor instead of racing.

“Peter Ball, who qualified for Australia, ended up coming fourth in the 800m race... I’m so proud of him and I just know that if I get to the Olympics in three years’ time, I’ll be in the final, if not getting a medal for Malta, so that really gets me excited.” 

Asked why he thought Malta is yet to win any Olympic medals, Micallef said not many athletes have found the right opportunity to go professional. 

“I don’t think it’s a matter of athletes not being good enough... I feel like, being a small country, most are surrounded by others who are going to train only up to a certain level and they haven’t seen the right person who’s going to take it to the next level,” he reckoned. 

“I hope that I can inspire more people to take athletics to the next level. I’m the sort of person who thinks of training as not just an opportunity to improve myself but to also help those around me who are trying to improve.

“I love to hype people up and just give them the encouragement they need to really do well. Already I’m hearing from athletes in Malta, people who I’ve never met, reaching out to me to welcome me and they look forward to training together, so I know that energy and spirit is there.” 

The Maltese have so much potential, he said.

“We’ve got talent in our blood but a tendency to undermine it. Jamaica is such a small country and, yet, it produces some of the best athletes in the world,” he noted.

“So, I think it’s also a matter of getting out of that bubble and finding the spark to really fire up all of your athletes.”

After restrictions and lockdowns, Micallef hopes to finally be able to move to Malta in March next year, which will enable him to keep training through both the Australian and Maltese winters. 

“I really just want to make the country proud and associate athletics with Malta and maybe even inspire the younger generation as well because that’s how I got started.”