Malta’s bobsleigh representation at the Winter Olympics is hanging in the balance after an athlete found herself short of sponsorship just two months before the start of the Games.

Shannon Galea, a Maltese-Canadian bobsleigh athlete is currently in Germany competing for her final few races in order to qualify for the Olympics in February, where she would be representing Malta.

Shannon Galea in action while competing in New York. Photo: Ken Childs

But after a sponsor pulled its support unexpectedly, Galea now finds herself in the difficult position of struggling to pay for the basics to keep competing.

“I have had difficulties flying in my coach and paying for accommodation,” Galea told Times of Malta, adding that she had worked two full-time jobs while coaching part-time to fund her Olympic dreams.

“Now, I really do need help to finish the season.”

Galea, whose parents migrated to Canada, was previously a professional softball player before retiring three years ago. After that, she poured all of her efforts into founding the Malta Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, where,  apart from being the only athlete, she is also burdened with the majority of administrative duties.

“My uncle and father always joked about potentially representing Malta in the 1988 Calgary Olympics for bobsleigh,” she said.

“They told that story as a joke but I think deep down it resonated with me. The idea has always been there but it had never happened.”

Detailing some of the costs she incurred to compete for the season, she has spent over $5,000 on the necessary equipment and $2,000 for training camps, not to mention some $1,500 spent on COVID-19 tests required for international travel.

Galea has also launched a Go Fund Me campaign where the public can support her Olympic efforts and has written to Prime Minister Robert Abela as well as new Sports Minister Clifton Grima asking for financial aid.

“The biggest barrier to accessing sport is still, unfortunately, funding and money,” Galea said.

“I did all of this largely out of pocket and with a small amount of funding from the Maltese Olympic Committee but, realistically, this just covered the cost of equipment and one competition in the season.

“There are other factors to consider when competing internationally and I’m lucky I’ve had that experience before because, had it been a younger or less experienced athlete, they may have stopped. It’s not an easy challenge for any competitor to face.”

Some 10 years ago, Galea had come to Malta to teach softball to young girls and set up sports camps for children.

“What I remember from that time is that I really had to scale back the goals I had hoped for in these camps because a lot of the basic skills for movement were absent and the children’s physical education was below standard,” she said.

“Of course, there have been improvements in infrastructure since then but,  from my experience living in Canada, I know there is an opportunity to adopt models to improve sport culture in Malta.”

She adds that part of her vision in representing Malta on the international scene is to raise the country’s profile in high-performance sport and encourage more people to participate.

“As an educator, I lead my life by example and maintain my fitness alongside my students,” she said.

“But also I’d like to show the world that, whether you live in Malta or Canada or New York, you can come and join my team and help build a culture around this really cold sport.”