Looking Forward to Birzebbuga’s Tough Race

Some athletes seem to be permanently in the headlines whilst others lie constantly in the background regardless of their achievements. Angela Sammut falls into this latter category: one of the top female long distance runners with a series of wins in local races to her name yet very little recognition.

Not that she’s complaining. Indeed, her primary concern is maintaining her current level of fitness and form that recently saw her winning the Mosta 5 Miles. “My training is going really well,” she says. “I’m training by myself and I’m very happy with my progress. I’m cautious with my training yet I know how far to push myself to prevent recurrences of old injuries.”

Next up for her is the Birzebbuga 10K where she is eager to make a mark in the race that is organised by her club St. Patrick’s AC. “The Birzebbuga 10k is though and the July heat doesn’t make it any easier. But I’m willing to run a personal best which I think shouldn’t be difficult given my current level of fitness.”

A frequent winner in Birzebbuga in the past, Sammut holds dear in particular her 2004 success there. “I recently came across a newspaper cutting from 2004 where it was mentioned that I had won the ladies race in 40.57 just three months after my daughter Michaela was born,” she recounts. “I’ve won the race on a number of occasions but I have to say that 2004 was special.”

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Poor Attendance at Summer Meet

Last week saw the first summer meet but, in reality, it was a poorly attended event with very few results of note. Perhaps everyone is still suffering from the post GSSE hangover? Who knows but let's hope that next week's Club's League sparks off greater interest.

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Charles Cilia and Joelle Cortis Win Race One

Birkirkara 5K Road Running Series 2009

The seventh edition of the Birkirkara 5K Road Running Series, organised by Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club in collaboration with the Birkirkara Local Council, and under the auspices of the Malta Amateur Athletic Association, got underway on the 30th June, with the first race on the Mtarfa By-Pass. Charles Cilia won the race 15 minutes 52 seconds, while Joelle Cortis was first female in 19 minutes 25 seconds.

Charles Cilia, Gerald Grech and Brian Magri set a fast pace from the start, quickly detaching themselves from the rest of the field. However it was Cilia who got the upper hand midway through the race. He crossed the finishing line 10 seconds ahead of Grech. Brian Magri finished third in 16 minutes, seven seconds.
Joelle Cortis and Angela Sammut were battling it out in the Females’ race, both of them running in each other’s shadow. This race was decided in the final kilometre, when Cortis started to get the better of her rival. Sammut’s reaction in the final stages was not enough to close the gap. Cortis’ victory was by two seconds. Third female was Josann Attard in 20 minutes 28 seconds.

The second race in this Series will be held on Tuesday, 28th July starting at 7.30 p.m.

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Change Does Portelli Good

Nikolai Portelli yesterday took part in the 200m at the Mediterranean Games. Here's a piece written about him midway through last month and which appeared on the Times of Malta

When looking for reasons as to why the number of people that are attracted to athletics is so limited, football invariably always gets the bulk of the blame.

Such is its popularity and the riches on offer that it is very difficult to resist its lure. So, it is that most individuals go for football irrespective of whether it is the best suited for their abilities.

Occasionally, however, that trend is reversed. As a boy, Nicolai Portelli tried his hand at any sport that came his way before ultimately narrowing down his choice to football and athletics. When pressed to decide between the two, he opted for running.

"I miss football and the camaraderie that comes from being in a team," he admits.

"Yet, the beauty of athletics is that whatever you do, you're doing it for yourself. The more effort you put in the more likely you are to reach your targets. If things go wrong you've got no one to blame but yourself."

And Portelli has certainly achieved quite a lot of late. Fresh from collecting three medals at the Games for the Small States of Europe, he was one of the few bright spots of a track and field team that didn't perform up to expectations.

"What I was really looking for was my time," he says, repeating what is a mantra among athletes.

"I wanted good runs and good times. Of course, the fact that I won the medals was an added bonus, the cherry on the cake if you want."

What makes Portelli's achievements all the more remarkable is the knowledge that he switched events during the season. Predominantly a 400m runner, he suddenly decided to shift his attention to the lower sprints.

"Towards the end of last season we started working on different things and that led to the choice to focus on shorter distances," he said.

"On my part, I always considered the 400m as a sprint, so for me it was simply a case of doing what I did before but on a shorter distance. I have to say that my coach Vladimir Douchenkov planned the whole process brilliantly."

Whatever he did worked and helped to re-establish the credentials of this unassuming athlete who had come for something of a battering last year. Chosen to take part in the Olympics, what should have been the culmination of a dream ended up leaving him with a bad taste.

"The experience of the Olympics itself was great," he says.

"I think I learned a lot simply from being there. What I didn't like was the comments that were made afterwards. People who should know better came up with statements that I didn't think were fair.

"When I went out to compete, I knew that the athletes next to me were of world class stature. Even so, I was not overawed. If you don't have such attitude I don't think that you can achieve anything."

Next up for Portelli is the European Cup where he has been chosen in the team hailing from the GSSE group except Cyprus.

"It is an important event. For me it is an exciting competition even if it is difficult to keep your peak. We have been trying to tailor my training in such a way so that I can keep the good condition that I'm in," Portelli said.

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Why Football, not Athletics, is Doing it for the Girls

Traditionally, athletics has always drawn a large number of girls and women to it. Football tends to be the dominating sport among boys so most go for that and, if it doesn’t work out, they either slip out of sports or else look for a different outlet.

For girls there is no such default sport so they tend to spread out between the alternative sports more evenly with athletics getting more than its fair share.

Or at least that was the case until very recently. For the increase in popularity of women’s football threatens to change all that. The number of girls’ football nurseries has ballooned in recent years to the extent that now these are present practically everywhere, which is bad news for other sports.

Football’s popularity in Malta is undisputed and this in itself is a magnet that attracts people to it. There is so much of football on television and in the media that it is easy to forget that there are different options out there. And if you’re a parent looking for a sport for your kid, it is tempting to go for a solution that is within easy reach. Indeed, whereas to train for athletics people have to drive their kids to Birkirkara or Marsa, football training is done practically everywhere: it is easy to see which sport offers the least hassle.

On top of that, football nurseries are getting really serious about building girls’ football. Leafing through my Sunday newspaper a couple of weeks back, I noticed a well designed and attractive colour advert through which a particular nursery was advertising its girls section. My immediate thought was about athletics and the last time that anyone had bothered to advertise the sport in a newspaper.

Indeed, apart from adverts of two of the major marathons, I couldn’t think of any instance where someone did anything similar. Off the top of my head, I can recall adverts for rugby, basketball and tennis but never anything about athletics.

It is another example which highlights the need to be pro-active. While other sport are out there trying to seem as attractive as possible, the feeling is that athletics is lurking in the background feeling sorry for itself and complaining that interest is on the decrease.

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Cycling Challenge for St. Patrick's AC

St. Patrick’s AC’s status as Malta’s leading long distance athletics club was confirmed once again over the weekend as they took the shield for the highest number of participants at the Olympic Day Run. And, as if to underline this claim, over the same weekend they were providing the national team taking part in the third division of the European League in Sarajevo with long distance runners Jonathan Balzan and Giselle Camilleri.

Yet there’s plenty more to the club then simply runners who can run long distances. Indeed, there’s more than athletics to the club.

In the middle of this month, a group of thirty-five athletes embarked on a cycling trip from Pozzalo to Ragusa in Sicily with the aim of raising money for charity, the second such trip following a similar one last year.

It was a tough challenge, yet one that was greatly enjoyed by those who made the trip. “One of those days that I will never forget,” is how David Demarco described it. “100km full of push, sweat, thirst, speed and above all comradeship. That's what makes this type of day.” Similar feelings to those expressed by Marisa Muscat who simply said that it was “one of the best days of my life!”

Indeed, the reaction has been so positive that now there is talk of including a cycling section to the club.

“We already have a number of top class triathletes like Danica Spiteri and Michael Gellel who have done the club proud over the years even if we don’t really have any direct involvement,” said St. Patrick’s AC president Antoine Atttard “But the success of the cycling trip has convinced us that it is something that we should look at. Hopefully we’ll be able to act on it soon as this is a move that will help us branch out.”

“With regards to this trip, thanks go to Jude Zammit who handled the bulk of the organisation as well as to all those who helped make it possible.”

In the meantime, preparations are well underway for the Birzebugia 10K. “As always, we’re working very hard to ensure that this is one of the best races around and I think that we’ll definitely manage to do that.”

Applications for the Birzebugia 10K can be downloaded from the club’s official website at www.stpatricksac.info or from www.maltaathletics.com.

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Another Win For Ksheim

Haithem Ksheim proved his worth over the 5km distance when he won the Mosta 5Km recently. Fellow St. Patrick's AC runner Angela Sammut ws the first among the women.

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Maltese Team Set for Europan Championships.

Whilst the Games for the Small States of Europe remains the focus of the local athletics season, participation in the annual European nations' competition remains just as, if not more, important.

Sadly media attention tends to shy away from this event even if the level of competition is significantly higher.

Even more so this year when the return from the Games in Cyprus has been mired in criticism over the perceived shortfall in results.

All of this has made the Maltese trip to Sarajevo this weekend for the European Team League even more low key. That the Maltese athletes join forces with all the other small nations barring Cyprus probably doesn't help.

Up until last year there had been talk of pulling out of the combined Small Nations' team in order to compete as a national team. There had also been suggestions that Malta was willing to apply for the organisation of this competition.

However, everything changed when the European Athletics Association decided to revamp the competition, changing not only the name - from European Cup to European Team League - but also in making specific requests on the composition of each team.

Given the lack of Maltese athletes in specific disciplines, it was decided to put those plans on hold. The rumour, however, is that the position is once again being reconsidered,

The Maltese squad for Sarajevo is made up as follows:
Lara Scerri; Diane Borg; Giselle Camilleri; Alessandra Pace; Antonella Chouhal; Nicolai Portelli; Jonathan Balzan; Andy Grech; Mario Mifsud and Karl Farrugia.

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