Last Friday, Malta took part in the St Mortiz European Skeleton Championship for the very first time.

The islands were represented by none other than Canadian-born athlete Shannon Galea.  

The competition was held as part of the World Cup series organised by the International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation, which also served as a European Championship competition. 

What's next for Shannon? 

This was just a warm-up for Shannon, as the athlete is set to compete at the Winter Olympics, set to be held in Beijing next month. 

Shannon will hopefully head off to the prestigious Winter Games with two other Maltese athletes after they compete in qualifying.   

If all goes to plan, Shannon will be joined by snowboarder Jenise Spiteri and Alpine skier Elise Pellegrin.