Michelle Dimech places second in Athens 10K

Gozitan athlete Michelle Dimech honoured the Maltese flag brilliantly in Athens, finishing second in a 10k race among 1,500 participants.

Dimech finished the race – which has a spectacular finish in the Panathenaic Stadium – with a very impressive time of 35 minutes 55 seconds.

“This was my first international experience after I took up athletics exactly two years ago,” Dimech told the Times of Malta.

“I run with Athletix A.C. Gozo under the guidance of coach Felicienne Mercieca. In the past two months I competed in four races where I placed 1st in two races (Gharb 5k and Oasi Cup 10k) in Gozo and placed second in another two races in Malta (Smart City 5k and Fastest 5).

“On Saturday, was my best result so far where I finished the Athens 10k Marathon in 35.55 placing 2nd female overall from 1,500 other female participants.

“It was an amazing experience and I look forward to keep on improving.”

The race was won by Anastasia Marinakou, of Greece, who crossed the finish line in a time of 34 minutes and 32 seconds.

Sonja Vernikov, of Germany, took third place when she completed the distance in 36 minutes and three seconds.

The result is a remarkable achievement for Dimech, who has a background in football, and has only been training in athletics for a very short period of time, demonstrating signficant potential.

Dimech was joined in the race by three other Athletix runners, namely Miriam Camilleri, Joseph Meilaq and Frank Attard.

Camilleri also clocked a new personal best when finishing the race in 47:32.

In the men’s race, Meilaq clocked his best time on the distance when stopping the watch on 37:09 while Attard also ran a new PB over the 10K route when clocking 37:36.