Last updated 7.41pm -

Malta broke its medals record at the Small Nations Games on Thursday, as its haul increased to 47 so far, from 44 when the games were last held in Malta 20 years ago.

The new record was set as Claire Azzopardi won gold and Rebecca Sare silver in the triple jump.

Thursday also saw Malta enjoying another gold rush winning eight gold medals.

A gold medal was won in the morning thanks to sharpshooter Matthew Grech in the men’s double trap competition.

Aiming for gold - Sharpshooter Matthew Grech in action.

Three gold medals came within five minutes of each other in the afternoon as swimmer Georgia Bohl won the 100m breaststroke, Kyle Micallef triumphed in the 50 metres freestyle and Janet Richard placed first in the 400m athletics.

Kyle Micallef and Georgia Bohl won gold in the swimming events for Malta.

Later in the afternoon, runner Gina McNamara became the first Maltese to win a second gold medal, coming first in the 1,500 metres after having triumphed in the 800 metres on Tuesday.

Another two gold medals then came within minutes. Renata Stribkova and Iacob Camella won gold after a nail-biting decider in table-tennis, their second gold after the team event, while Claire Azzopardi triumphed in the triple jump.

Malta then beat Liechtenstein 3-1 to win gold in squash. Malta's players were Brad Hindle Deguara, Daniel Zammit Lewis, Kijan Sultana and Duncan Stahl.

Renata Stribkova and Iacob Camella won gold in table tennis.

Malta won nine gold medals on Tuesday and three on Wednesday.  The gold tally stands at 20, well above the previous record 11 gold medals won when the games were last held in Malta 20 years ago.

Gina McNamara is the first Maltese to win a second gold medal in the current games. She is seen above in her first victory, on Tuesday.

Claire Azzopardi is all smiles after winning her gold medal.

Photos by Jonathan Borg and Matthew Mirabelli.

Follow the latest developments in the games on our blog here.