Janet Richard and Jeremy Zammit were honoured as athletes of the year following a string
of top-level performances throughout the past months. They received the Association’s top
accolade during an award ceremony held on Sunday. For this season, Athletics Malta
introduced a new system, awarding athletes on the basis of their preferred event, resulting
in more athletes being honoured in their respective categories.
Long-jumper Zammit, of local club Pembroke Athleta, started off the year with an
outstanding achievement in this field event, breaking the 17-year-old national record by
jumping 7.73m. This fantastic result followed-up his achievements during the previous year,
where he had become the first Maltese athlete in his age category to reach the final of both
the World and European Under 20 Championships.
Based on these impressive results and his world and European ranking, Zammit has earned
a four-year athletic scholarship at the D1 University at Auburn, in the USA, where he will
also continue with his studies.
Pembroke’s Janet Richard retained the crown for the second successive season highlighted
with a stunning new national record on the 400m, becoming the first Maltese woman to
break the 54-second barrier. Competing at the European Championships in Munich,
Germany, Richard completed the lap around the track in 53.49s. She was also part of
another national record, this time with the 4x100m, clocking a time of 45.59 at last
Summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The young athlete also claimed two gold medals for Malta at the Championship for Small
States of Europe held on our shores, winning the 400m race and being part of the victorious
women’s swedish relay team.
Athletics Malta also awarded the best athletes for their respective age categories (below).
The winners include Claire Azzopardi (Pembroke Athleta) winner of the gold medal at CSSE
2022 in the long jump and Swedish relay, and Beppe Grillo (Pembroke Athleta), winner of
the silver medal in the 100m and swedish relay respectively.
National record breakers Dillon Cassar (Mellieha AC), Bradley Mifsud and Mireya Cassar
(Pembroke Athleta) and golden boy Matthew Galea Soler (La Salle AC), winner of the very
first medal at the EYOF games together other age category record breaks also made it on
this prestigious list.
www.athleticsmalta.com
Category Category Name Name of Athlete Male Name of Athlete Female
Overall Athlete of the Year Jeremy Zammit
Overall Athlete of the Year Janet Richard
Overall Master Athlete of the Year Antonella Chouhal
Overall Master Athlete of the Year Rachid Chouhal
Open Sprint Jared Micallef Janet Richard
Open Jumps Ian Paul Grech Claire Azzopardi
Open Throws Bradley Mifsud Antonella Chouhal
Open Hurdles and Steeplechase Daniel Saliba Rosalie Borg
Open Middle Distance Jared Micallef Lisa Marie Bezzina
Open Long Distance Dillon Cassar Joelle Cortis
U23 Sprint Damien Mizzi Carla Scicluna
U23 Jumps Flavio Romeo Sana Grillo
U23 Throws Luca Martini Elise June Campbell
U23 Middle Distance David Borg Rachel Marie Galea
U23 Long Distance David Borg
U20 Sprint Beppe Grillo Alessia Cristina
U20 Jumps Jeremy Zammit Rachela Pace
U20 Throws Kyle Caruana Mireya Cassar
U20 Middle Distance Matthias Fenech Kyla Farrugia
U20 Long Distance Gabriel Farrugia
U18 Sprint Matthew Galea Soler Kay Lee Testa
U18 Jumps Nikolai Bonello Anthea Cassar
U18 Throws Kareem Luca Chouhal Sonique Gatt
U18 Hurdles and Steeplechase Julian Zarb
U18 Middle Distance Isaac Bonnici Michela Caruana
U18 Long Distance Julian Zarb
U16 Sprint Luca Gerada Thea Parnis Coleiro
U16 Jumps Luca Gerada Thea Parnis Coleiro
U16 Throws Luca Gerada Bianca Shoemake
U16 Middle Distance Michael Debattista Mireya Bugeja
U14 Sprint Nick Bonett Kristina Azzopardi
U14 Jumps Nick Bonett Thea Grech
U14 Middle Distance Matthew Azzopardi Thea Grech
Masters Athlete List
M35 Master Athlete M35 Neil Brimmer
M40 Master Athlete M40 Aaron Mifsud
M45 Master Athlete M45 Rachid Chouhal
M50 Master Athlete M50 Mario Farrugia
M55 Master Athlete M55 Peter Azzopardi
M60 Master Athlete M60 Michael Camilleri
W35 Master Athlete W35 Joelle Cortis
W40 Master Athlete W45 Lisa Marie Bezzina
W45 Master Athlete W45 Antonella Chouhal
W50 Master Athlete W50 Carmen Hili
