The swimming factor in GSSE

The euphoria created by our athletes' success at the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) in Andorra has already died down.

Within a few months, we will know what steps will be taken to prepare the Maltese contingent for the 2007 edition in Monaco.

The results obtained by Maltese athletes in Andorra were hailed as exceptional, particularly in the light of the uncertainty that had gripped the Malta Olympic Committee after weeks of squabbling with the Kunsill Malti ghall-Isport.

At one stage, even Malta's participation in the Andorra Games was in jeopardy.

Malta's haul of 38 medals, including seven gold, is rightly perceived as impressive.

Although Angela Galea finally broke Malta's duck in the pool by clinching our first ever gold medal in the 200m butterfly, critics rightly point out that Malta never stands a decent chance of bridging the gap with Cyprus, Iceland and Luxembourg.

This is because these three nations land a considerable number of medals in the pool.

Just to refresh your memory, beneath is the final medals' table at the end of the Andorra Games 2005.

The following table represents the number of medals won by each country, excluding those won in swimming.

The second table 'relegates' host nation Andorra to bottom place for the simple reason that Hocine Hocaine notched five gold medals in the pool and propelled his country to fifth place in the medals' table. Meanwhile, lowly Liechtenstein climb to sixth place as they failed to win a single medal in the pool.

Had swimming not been part of the Games, Malta would have been classified in fifth place. Yet these numbers speak volumes! Maltese athletes need to improve by leaps and bounds if they ever hope of breathing down the necks of the leading trio in these Games.

The ratio of gold medals for Cyprus and Malta is 5 to 1 while that of Iceland and Luxembourg is 2.5 to 1. Even tiny Monaco managed more gold medals at these Games than our athletes.

We should really be blowing our trumpets and making some noise if one day we manage to register a result that puts us on a par with the likes of at least Luxembourg and Iceland.

While Luxembourg is a landlocked country blessed with excellent road networks that link the wealthy state to Germany, Belgium and France, it is worth pointing out that Iceland is also an island hovering on the arctic-circle with abominable climatic conditions for most of the year.

Athletes from Luxembourg know that a two-hour drive is all it takes to compete against some of Europe's leading athletes in various disciplines.

On the other hand, Icelandic athletes need to board a flight to get a taste of competitive action and in this regard they too have to juggle around with flight connections and costly air-travel like their Maltese counterparts.

Comparisons will always be relative and I am pretty sure that some of you will not give much consideration to this simple analysis.

One thing is sure though... Malta needs to be smarter to achieve more success at these Games. One very good swimmer can easily win four or five gold medals in the pool.

And the Malta Olympic Committee has the tools to lure a promising swimmer from the land down under who may not be good enough to make the Australian squad but would have the potential to dominate in GSSE events.

Hocaine of Andorra is a classic example. Without his services, Andorra would have gained a very disappointing result on home soil.

The threshold amount of medals by Maltese athletes has been reached at the Games. We now need to improve on the quality of the medals won. Only then can we really throw a party and pop the champagne corks.

A sad loss

The local football community has lost one of the best goalkeepers in recent history after David Cluett passed away on Sunday.

Cluett was one of the most talented goalkeepers to don the Malta jersey and his agility in goal coupled with his massive arm reach made him very difficult to beat.

Dundee United found out at their own expense when all they could manage was a solitary goal over two legs as they had to sweat hard to beat Floriana in 1988/89 in the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup.

Cluett was also in goal when the Greens won their last championship in 1992 and ousted Ekranas of Lithuania before bowing out to Portuguese champions Porto 2-0 on aggregate after a goalless draw at Ta' Qali.

My sincere condolences to his family. Although David is no longer with us, his heroics in goal will forever be part of Malta's footballing history.

The funeral of David Cluett will take place tomorrow at the Balluta Parish Church at 9.30 a.m.