Malta will be represented by six athletes at the inaugural World Half-Marathon
Championships being held in Riga, Latvia.
In the male event, Malta will represented by athletes who have been in fine form over the
past seasons, namely Dillon Cassar, holder of the National Record on the Half Marathon,
Luke Micallef and Simon Spiteri. Beside competing individually in the World Championship,
the trio will also be representing Malta as a national team.
In the female event, Malta will be represented by current half marathon national holder Lisa
Bezzina and Joelle Cortis. Both athletes will be taking part at the end of a successful season.
Among other honours, Bezzina won the Pisa Half Marathon and the Malta Road Running
Series, while Cortis claimed top place at the Brighton 10k.
The Maltese contingent will be competing against some of the world’s best half-
marathoners. Among the men, nations like Kenya and Ethiopia will be fielding a trio of sub-
60 minute athletes. Among the women, the start-list features Kenyan stars Peres
Jepchirchir, Olympic Marathon champion and Irine Jepchumba Kimais, who claimed the
Barcelona Half Marathon earlier this year.
Parallel to this event, Riga will also host a One-Mile event where Malta will be represented
by Gina Mcnamara, who won three gold medals at the recent GSSE 2023 held on our shores.
Team Malta’s participation is supported by Sport Malta and the Maltese Olympic
Committee.
