Track and field season hits off with three national records

Malta’s athletic season got off to a brilliant start at the Matthew Micallef St John with several national records achieved at a very early stage of the season, setting the scene for an exciting campaign ahead for Maltese athletes.

During Athletics Malta’s first Pre-Season Meeting, Carla Scicluna got her season off to a fantastic start breaking the 60m national record in her first race for 2024, stopping the clock on 7.47s, just ahead of Claire Azzopardi who also clocked a remarkable time of 7.55s – a personal best for her.

A second national record was registered later in the day with Graham Pellegrini, claiming the win over 300m, setting a new national and Under 23 record with 33.38s.

The Pembroke athlete achieved this milestone a mere six months after doing the same with the 400m record.

A third record was established many miles away, with Rachela Pace continuing to impress during her experience with Fresno State University.

She recorded a jump of 6.31m while competing in the US, adding a long jump indoor national record to the triple jump record which she already holds.

The first event at the Marsa stadium also brought about a number of significant performances by the younger athletes.

Another strong performer on the day was Michael Debattista Segond, with the Pembroke athlete finishing first in 2:36.05 in the 1,000m race. He established a new national record for the Under 23, U-20 and U-18 categories.

His performance augurs well for his upcoming international competition, with the athlete representing Malta at the Balkan Indoor Under 20 Championship in Belgrade on Sunday.

Debattista Segond will be racing on the 800m distance, where he will be joined by Isaac Bonnici.

Savio’s Jordan Pace also set a new national record timing in the 300m hurdles, lowering his Under 20 and Under 23 mark to 42.09.

In the throws, Bianca Shoemake (Rush AC) established a new benchmark in the hammer with a fantastic throw of 52.47m, earning her the Under 18 national record.

Senior athletes will be back on track this Saturday for a second pre-season meeting, while younger athletes will be back on Sunday with the cross country event on the Marsa grounds on Sunday morning.

Here athletes will be running loops of 1000, precisely one for the Under 12, two for the Under 14 and three for the Under 16.