Malta’s Artistic Swimming team continued with their international commitments when they travelled to Rijeka in Croatia for the 1st European Youth Artistic Swimming Championships & Mediterranean Artistic Swimming Cup.
The competitions were open to all LEN and COMEN-affiliated federations.
Malta had to contend with the tough competition including Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway, and Italy.
Despite the more-experienced field of athletes, Malta’s performances saw Zea Montfort (Solo), Emily Ruggier, and Nicole Tomic Felice (Duet) booking their place into the finals.
In the preliminary Solo competitions, Montfort’s performance saw her finish in 14th place out of 20 competitors in the general rankings, whilst in the Comen standings, she finished in seventh place out of nine competitors.
Similar performances were registered in the duet competitions by Emily Ruggier and Nicole Tomic Felice. The duo managed to beat Bulgaria in the preliminaries enabling them to proceed to the finals.
Malta concluded their commitments in Rijeka with an eighth place in both the Solo and Duet competitions.
Coach Michelle Hubner was particularly satisfied with the placings achieved in the figures – which are technical elements that are competed in these particular categories.
Each age group has a different set of figures attributed to them, including mandatory and optionals. Each figure is judged from the standpoint of perfection. The accuracy of positions and transitions are evaluated, as well as control, extension, speed, height, stability, and uniform motion.
All Maltese athletes performed well in this discipline.
In the general rankings, Montfort ranked 95th over 161 athletes, whilst Ruggier and Tomic Felice registered a 99th and 116th ranking respectively.
In the Comen standings, 82 athletes were taken into consideration with Montfort, Ruggier, and Tomic Felice ranked 59th, 61st, and 69th respectively.
“We have still a good way to go, but one has to consider the level of experience Malta is competing against,” coach Michelle Hubner said.
“ I believe we are very much on the right track and our swimmers are not short of commitment. We look forward to seeing improved results in the forthcoming competitions.”
