Rush AC athletes set string on national records at London Indoor Games

Rush AC athletes enjoyed a memorable experience at the London Indoor Games as they not only produced a string of positive performances that augurs well for their future, but proudly represented the Maltese flag at this top-tier event in the British capital establishing a series of category national records in the process.

Among the newly established benchmarks, Isaac Bonnici served a strong reminder of his impressive development, bettering the 800m U-18 indoor record with a time of 2:01.61.

Bianca Shoemake also demonstrated her talent and promise surpassing setting a new Under 16 and Under 18m 60m hurdles record with a run of 9.76s followed by 9.63s in the second round.

Thea Parnis Coleiro equalled another long-standing indoor record also in the U16 category, with a fantastic run in 60m, clocking 7.91s while lowering the 200m indoor record from 26.86 to 25.70s.

Both records were previously held by Alessia Cristina.

In the field, Luca Gerada broke the U16 indoor shotput record by more than a metre, taking the new benchmark to 13.14m from 11.77m.

In the same discipline, Andre Gauci set a new national mark among the Under 14s.

Other very encouraging performances among these youngsters included a fantastic 8.44s by Viola Pizzolato (U14) on the 60m as well as Nathan Myers (U-18), a new kid on the block, with 7.33s on the same short distance.

Leah Frendo certainly deserves a mention, with the 10-year-old already capable of clocking 8.91s in the 60m and 30.49 on the 200m.

Other athletes in the contingent included Giacomo Portelli, Kay Leigh Anne Ellul, Yuliya Barbara, Nathan George Bonello and Andre Gauci. They all did well, setting new personal bests besides gaining a priceless experience by running and throwing alongside a high-level international field.

The delegation was led by team coaches Antonella Chouhal and Rachid Chouhal, with the latter also having the opportunity to exhibit his talent with a 7.45s timing on the 60m in the Masters category.