The 32nd edition of the summer Olympic games will be held this year in Tokyo, Japan, and the Maltese Olympic Committee (MOC) has been occupied for quite some time identifying athletes, following their training regime and their competitive performances.

Now, the MOC is sharing details of Malta’s lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Games and is also revealing its hopes and aspirations for local athletes aiming to compete in the world’s biggest sporting event.

A lil bit about Malta at the Olympic Games

Malta has participated in 16 summer Games editions, with the first participation happening at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, which saw nine Maltese athletes compete. As yet, Malta has not medalled in any discipline but it has achieved some great results along the way: “The best position a Maltese athlete has ever achieved was in Shooting (Double Trap),” the MOC President Julian Pace Bonello reveals.

This came through William Chetcuti, who had finished in joint 6th place, then 8th after the shoot-off at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. William had also achieved a similar result at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he had finished joint 6th and then placed 9th after the shoot-off.

William’s 9th place finish matches that of Peter Bonello, who had competed in the Sailing (Windsurfing) category at the 1984 Summer Olympicsin Los Angeles.

How does an athlete qualify?

There are various routes an athlete can take to qualify for the Olympics, the first of which comes through a number of qualifying events at both European and World level. So far, William Chetcuti has been the only Maltese athlete ever to qualify through this route.

One other method is through Tripartite Places, which the MOC has already placed a request for – places offered to Olympic Committees which have traditionally sent small delegations to the Olympic Games, thus providing the possibility of selecting athletes who might not have qualified through the usual process.

Qualification can also occur through a Quota Place, which is only granted should the number of qualified athletes in any particular sport discipline not be sufficient to fill the available ‘spots’ in that Event. These are issued later on.

There are also three Universality Places granted to Malta, two in swimming and one in athletics. Olympic Committees with no male or female qualified athlete or relay team will be allowed to enter their best ranked male athlete or their best ranked female athlete in one athletic event. These are granted by the World Athletics Technical Delegates, whose judgement is based on the technical standard of the athlete and the numbers of qualified athletes in the respective event.

What disciplines will Malta be competing under at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?

Ivan Balzan, MOC Director of Sports informs that preparations for the upcoming summer Olympic Games are currently underway, with the MOC working closely with relevant National Federations to select Malta’s representatives via a long list: “The long list is the first draft list of athletes that are earmarked for possible qualification. Another list of coaches, which would accompany athletes making to the Games is also being prepared,” Ivan says.

Traditionally, Malta competes in athletics, swimming and shooting, but several athletes hailing from disciplines such as badminton, boxing, judo, weightlifting and windsurfing have made it to the long list.

Returning faces

Since the selection process is currently underway, the MOC is not able to confirm the participation of any local athlete. Despite this, the MOC expresses its faith in local atheletes Jordan Gusman and William Chetcuti. While hopes are high for the former to earn a place in the 5000m Athletics event, the road may be a tougher one for the latter.

In previous editions of the Olympic Games, Chetcuti had competed in Shooting (Double Trap), but this category has now been disbanded. Instead, Chetcuti has had to make the switch to Shooting (Olympic Trap) which is a relatively new event for the athlete. Nevertheless, the MOC expresses its support: “Should he compete in Tokyo, he has the potential to at least emulate his previous performances,” says Julian.

Difficulties

Time difference is a major factor impacting athlete performance during the Olympic Games, and it affects (to varying extents) a large number of international athletes. Japan is 19 hours ahead, with eight time zones separating it from Malta, and also exposes a heightened level of heat and humidity during the summer months, a combination of factors which will undoubtedly leave an impact.

To curb this, the MOC has a plan in check: “We will try to mitigate this as much as possible by travelling well ahead of competition time to allow for adjustment to the new time zone, overcome the travel fatigue and acclimatise to the environmental conditions,” the Chef de mission, Dr Lucienne Attard confirms.

A message to all athletes

Despite the difficulties, the MOC stresses that competing at the Olympic Games is a great honour: “These are the highest level events any athlete can aspire to take part in. The obvious difficulty is knowing that you are competing against the world’s best athletes in any given event and being in the spotlight for such a prestigious competition,” the MOC says.

Their final say: “Dream big and go for it! There will be setbacks and disappointments but never give up!” 

We can't wait to see which athletes will be representing Malta at Tokyo 2020!