Maltese athletics enjoyed another strong weekend, led by a standout gold-medal performance by Jared Micallef, who secured victory in the 800m at the Balkan Senior Athletics Championships in Volos, Greece, delivering one of Malta’s most significant international results of the season.
This was Malta’s first ever gold medal at the Balkan Senior Championships, since Malta joined this high-profile event back in 2021. Micallef complete the two-lap race in a time of 1:46.93.
In the same event, Isaac Bonnici also impressed by setting a new Under-23 national record with a time of 1:51.82.
Strong performances in Volos were also recorded by Omar El Aida Chaffey, Graham Pellegrini, Thea Parnis, Claire Azzopardi, Jordan Pace, Nathan Myers, Martha Spiteri, Josepha Micallef and Mireya Bugeja across a range of track events.
At the Athletics Malta Challenge Meeting 7 in Marsa, the pole vault produced a new national benchmark as Nicolai Bonello cleared 4.86m, narrowly missing 4.91m on his attempts. Ella Borg Degiorgio also set a new Under-16 national best with a 3.01m clearance.
On the track, Ben Salnitro clocked 14.04s in the 110m hurdles to set a new Under-20 national record and secure qualification for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships.
Elsewhere, at the Track Nights event in Vienna, Gabriel Farrugia improved the Under-20 national 5000m record to 14:31, while Dillon Cassar delivered a personal best of 14:28, winning his heat in the process.
