Improved performance for Malta in European Artistic Gymnastics Championship

During this year’s edition of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Germany, Malta was represented by senior gymnasts Ella Borg and Tara Vella Clark, and junior gymnasts Philippa Busuttil and Faith Anouk Cassar Fenech with their coach Nataliya Pantileeva.

Also joining the contingent in Munich were Francesca Borg from Gymstars and the Malta Gymnastics Federation as judge, and Vice President of Malta Gymnastics Federation Alexandra Borg was head of Malta’s delegation for the competition.

Senior gymnasts Ella Borg and Vella Clark achieved very good results. Malta qualified as a country for the World Championships for the first time in history with Vella Clark’s performance during qualifications.

Only 13 teams and 23 individual gymnasts can qualify for the European Championships. Qualification such as the one achieved, sets Malta on its Olympic Games pathway.

Another outstanding result was achieved by junior gymnast Busuttil who placed 35th among 76 best junior European gymnasts. She gave strong performances on all four apparatus and managed to outperform her recent achievements in The Mediterranean Gymnastics Confederation Games (COMEGYM) and the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).

Cassar Fenech had a solid performance and improved her overall score from that of COMEGYM.

These outstanding performances at such a high-level event augur well for Maltese gymnastics as the Maltese Gymnastics Federation sets its objective to have Maltese gymnasts compete at the next Olympics.