The young Maltese athlete, Gabriel Farrugia continued to impress in his performances abroad, showcasing significant potential for the future of Maltese athletics.

Running in the European Cross Country Championships this weekend, he obtained one of the best results by a Maltese athlete on 5km in this speciality.

In Brussels, he completed the race in 18:22, beating athletes from some 19 nations with far more experience in cross country running, including Austria, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Turkey.

Farrugia placed 64^th, the highest ranking by a Maltese athlete in the European Championships.

He was part of a Maltese delegation that took part in this continental event, an important experience in tough running conditions to which local athletes are not routinely exposed to, including grass, mud and other natural obstacles offered by the Laeken Park in the Belgian capital.

They were competing among almost 600 athletes from 38 European nations.

Among the men, a strong performance was also delivered by Gozitan athlete David Borg, who ran the Under 23 race, over 7km, in 27:14.

In the men’s open event, Malta Champion Luke Micallef confirmed his dominance in this speciality over 9km, classifying as best Maltese, in a time of 34:12, ahead of Shaun Galea and Charlton Debono. The open race was won by Frenchman Yann Schrub ahead of Norway’s Magnus Tuv Myhre. The Maltese trio contributed to a final classification of 13^th place for the Maltese team.

Among the women, Lisa Bezzina and Rachel Borg placed 54^th and 55^th respectively in a race which saw the participation of many top female runners, with Norwegian Karoline Grovdal taking gold ahead of Italian Nadia Battocletti.

Sport Malta and the Malta Olympic Committee supported Athletics Malta to ensure Malta’s participation at this event.