Blake, Gilford make up MAAA team

Tanya Blake and Darren Gilford have been selected to represent Malta in the ninth IAAF World Championships to be held in Paris between August 23 and 30, the Malta Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) announced yesterday.

Blake has entered the 800m event while Gilford will be taking part in the 100m.

Recent performances of Malta's two athletes suggest that this year's MAAA team for the World Championships is the strongest ever.

Blake, ranked seventh in Europe, will be seeking to emulate last year's performance when she made it to the semi-finals of the European Championships.

Obviously, the level of the world event is higher than Europe's and Blake will have to be at the top of her form to make it past the very competitive qualifying rounds. Last May, Blake achieved a personal best of 1:59.56 in the 800m.

Although aged just 20, Gilford has established himself as Malta's top sprinter. This year, he managed to break the 100m national record twice with times of 10.56 and 10.55.

Gilford's encouraging performances have earned him a place in the top 50 European Under 23 rankings. He is currently in 36th position - certainly an honour for local athletics.

His goal ahead of the World Championships is to consolidate and even improve his current ranking. Blake and Gilford are currently in Belgium to take part in a number of competitions before they move to Paris.

IAAF Congress

Anthony Chircop and Edwin Attard, president and general secretary of the MAAA respectively, will also be in Paris during the World Championships.

They will be attending the bi-annual IAAF Congress. The election of members to serve on the IAAF Council and a number of other commissions is the main item on this year's agenda.

For the Maltese representatives, the IAAF Congress gives them an excellent platform from where to promote the European Coaches Conference, to be held in Malta later this year.

This conference, organised by the MAAA, is expected to attract some of the top names in sprint coaching.