Janet Richard, Claire Azzopardi and the women’s quartet were Malta’s star performers at the Championship for Small States at Marsa after striking gold in the 400m race, long jump and the Swedish relay respectively.
It was bright showing from Team Malta who fielded a blend of youth and experience who all contributed to the team’s cause and help the home contingent to an excellent second-place finish in the overall standings when amassing 110 points. They only finished behind Cyprus who topped the standings with 117 points with Moldova placing third with 99 points.
Richard claimed Malta’s first gold medal of the day in the 400 metres when clocking 55.12s, fending off the late challenge of Armenia’s Gayane Chiloyan (55.64) despite the latter’s seasonal best. Moldova’s Anna Berghii also set a seasonal best in finishing third on 56.57.
“I am so ecstatic, the atmosphere here is amazing and racing on home soil is just a great experience. Today, I wasn’t racing for the time, but I was focused on the placing and to get Malta’s first gold medal feels just amazing,” Richard said.