Local athlete Graham Pellegrini won a silver medal for Malta at the Mediterranean Under 23 Championships held in Ismaila, Egypt.

Running on the 400m in the Suez Canal Stadium, Graham placed second in 47.88s, behind Marc Anthony Ibrahim (Lebanon) and ahead of Egypt’s Youssef Kamal Farag.

Malta had been off the podium at these games since Charlotte Wingfield’s bronze in the 2016 edition, held in Tunisia.

In the 100m sprint, Beppe Grillo was unlucky to miss out on a medal by finishing fourth in 10.60s, a mere 0.04s off third place. The race was won by Portuguese Gabriel Maia in 10.47s.

Another athlete running beyond our shores was Gabriel Farrugia (Evolve Endurance Club), who ran at the Next Generation Athletics meeting in Nijmegen. He registered his first sub-15’ time on the 5000m, with his 14:51 a new Under 23 National Record, subject to ratification.

On the other hand, Nicolai Bonello secured yet another national record, registering 4.85m in the pole vault.

Meanwhile, Michael Debattista Segond continued to register quick progress, with the Pembroke athlete setting a new record in the Under 18 category and being a tenth of a second close to achieving his first sub-4’ in the 1500m, clocking 4:00.09.

In the shotput, Miguel Buttigieg (La Salle) set a new Under 20 record with a 14.78m throw.

Next weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, all eyes will be on the younger athletes, with the Junior National Championships being held at the Marsa Stadium.

Congrats to all athletes!