Maltese athletes invited at Donato Sabia memorial meeting in Italy
Two Maltese athletes were invited to compete at a national athletics meeting in Lauria, Basilicata, held in memory of the late Italian athlete and coach Donato Sabia, with both producing winning performances in the events that had defined his own distinguished career.
Jared Micallef claimed victory in the 800m in 1:47.50, while Matthew Galea Soler won the 400m in 47.61 at the meeting held on Wednesday, 9 September at the G. Pastoressa School Field in Lauria.
The meeting was organised by the FIDAL Basilicata Regional Committee and the CONI Basilicata Regional Committee as part of the Basilicata Sport Invaders project, in collaboration with Club Atletico Lauria. It brought together athletes of national standing while paying tribute to Sabia and to Domenico Forestieri, a key figure in the development of athletics in Lauria.
For Malta, however, the meeting carried an added significance.
Sabia and his family lived in Malta for three years, between 1998 and 2001, during which time he coached a number of leading Maltese national team athletes. Among those he worked with were Dierdre Farrugia, Mario Bonello, Xandru Grech, Rachid Chouhal and Fabio Spiteri.
Sabia was himself one of Italy’s outstanding middle-distance athletes. He competed in two Olympic Games and reached the final on both occasions, establishing himself among the country’s leading runners over 400m and 800m.
His contribution to Maltese athletics extended beyond the technical knowledge he passed on to the athletes he coached. For those who worked with him, his time in Malta also created lasting friendships and memories which have remained strong decades later.
That makes the performances of Micallef and Galea Soler in Lauria particularly fitting. In the same two events in which Sabia had excelled during his own career, Maltese athletes returned to his home region and took both victories.
Sabia died from COVID-19 in 2020, but his memory remains strong both in Italy and among the athletes and friends he left behind in Malta. His legacy is reflected not only in his own achievements but also in the athletes he helped develop and the influence he had during his time coaching in Malta.
Athletics Malta extends its warmest thoughts to Sabia’s wife, Daniela, and his daughters, Ilenia and Chiara. The success of two Maltese athletes on this special occasion was a fitting tribute to a man whose contribution to athletics crossed borders and whose impact continues to be felt.
The meeting also produced a new Basilicata regional record in the women’s 200m, with Enza Lancellotti clocking 23.76, adding another highlight to an evening dedicated to remembering two important figures in the history of athletics in Lauria.
For Maltese athletics, though, the most meaningful result was clear: victories in the 400m and 800m, carrying forward the legacy of a coach who once made Malta his home.
