Swimmers' participation at the Athens Olympics

I refer to Pierre Cassar's article "What went wrong in Athens?" (The Times, September 3) and particularly to his comments regarding the swimming team.

Under the guise of calling a spade a spade, his are no more than unjust and gratuitous comments. To prove this I need no more than to refer to his colleague, Alex Vella's studied exercise, published in The Times a few weeks ago, that proves scientifically the improvement of the Maltese swimmers during these last years.

When, would I ask, did we challenge so seriously, and get so close to winning a gold medal in swimming at the GSSE than we did last year, through my daughter, Angela?

It will be recalled that as a matter of fact our swimmers at the GSSE exceeded expectations and set many new national records.

Yet, despite the improvement, the ASA Swimming Board did not appoint a national coach following the departure of Attila Selmeci shortly after the GSSE.

For quite a stretch, the swimmers could not make use of the National Pool due to refurbishment works (a fact acknowledge by Mr Cassar himself). Our swimmers have had no opportunities to swim competitively since the GSSE.

An intensive training camp abroad during the last month, obtained through the good offices of the MOC, as well as the services of a very good Italian coach for the Olympics, thanks to the intervention of the ASA president, did certainly improve matters and, although not enough for the swimmers to better their personal best times, still the swimmers did their best in the circumstances, as experts who have worked with them will confirm.

In this context it will be relevant to quote what my daughter told journalists prior to leaving for the Olympics... "clocking my season's best time is what I am looking to achieve in Athens".

The swimmers tried as best as they could in the circumstances and this in the true and pure Olympic spirit.

Participation in such competitions is of utmost importance as coach Maurizio Cocconi, who accompanied the swimmers in Athens, has advised the MOC officials.

The fact is that at present, in a major sports discipline like swimming, our only realistic hope of reaching the top is when we compete with nations of our size - another fact which Mr Cassar himself would seem to acknowledge by his comparisons in the first part of Friday's contribution.

Our participation in the Olympic Games can only be to the best of our ability in the circumstances.

So, please Mr Cassar, do not use your spades for words only. Next time do your spadework before rushing to print.