Australia may have won its first gold medal at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Wednesday courtesy of cyclist Paige Greco who topped the C3 Individual Pursuit competition but her success has a tinge of Maltese flavour as Greco is coached Nick Formosa, a Team Malta member in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Greco secured the gold medal when she beat China’s Wang Xiaomei in the final when clocking a new world record at the Tokyo Velodrome.
But her preparation for the Paralympic Games was masterminded by her coach Nick Formosa.
Formosa was an elite cyclist and formed part of the Malta contingent that took part in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
In fact he was one five cyclists forming part of the Maltese selection in Melbourne which also included Etienne Bonello Stephania Magri, Jack Schiavone and David Treacy.
Since he retired from the sport, Formosa went into coaching and forms part of the Australian Institute of Sport.
During his stint as coach he has also been in charge of the preparation of Maltese athlete James Mifsud who won a bronze medal for Malta in the 2017 GSSE in San Marino.
For Formosa and Greco this was not their first gold medal together as in 2019 they had already won multiple titles at the World Championships.
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