Branding Malta Through Sport

I recently chanced upon Air Malta’s adverts on Sky News where they focus on the Cross of the Knights of St. John, labelling it as the symbol of our identity.

Aside from the nationalistic issues that see this more as a symbol of national oppression, this advert reminded me how others always seem more capable of exploiting such symbols.

New Zealand’s finest exports are the All Blacks, their famous rugby union side. In the early nineties the country’s tourism authorities realised that the all black shirts and the silver fern were the most widely recognisable symbol of their country. So they effectively set about building their advertising around this logo. This made advertising New Zealand as a tourist destination much easier because people easily recognise it: sport has effectively built up the New Zealand brand.

Which got me thinking as to how easy it would be to undertake a similar exercise here. Why not alter the kits of Maltese sportspeople so as to incorporate a clearly visible cross? The kit that the national football team used to wear in the early 80s springs to mind. This way, every time a Maltese athlete goes abroad they would literally be a walking advert for the country.

Read more...

No Joke in Pembroke’s Success Story

There is a certain degree of irony in the date of this year's edition of the Pembroke 10k. For, ask anyone who has ever sampled the race and you're likely to be told that one of the toughest routes around is certainly no joke.

Yet, perhaps due to its challenging nature, the Pembroke 10k remains extremely popular with local runners. "The athletes know that it is a very well organised race," explains Pembroke Athleta chairmain Victor Camilleri. "They receive support all the way, there are regular water stations and the route is well marshalled. That it is challenging probably adds to its attraction as does the fact that it is one of the final races of the season so athletes are eager to compete."

This year's edition - the thirteenth in the race's history - will see James Douglas start as favourite. The Birkirkara St. Joseph man has monopolised the local road running scene in the past six months and there's little reason for that to change. Pembroke Athleta's own Brian Magri should lead the challenging pack.

Athleta will also be at the forefront in the women's category with Carol Walsh (pictured) and Lisa Marie Bezzina expecting to finish in the top two positions. St. Patrick's AC's Angela Sammut, who recently won the Ronhill Dingli 10, will also be expecting a good result.

But, rather than the elite event, perhaps the real feature of the Pembroke 10k is their fun runs. These attract hundreds of children with over 1,100 being the expected number for this year,

This is no coincidence. "We work extremely hard on the fun runs," Camilleri says. "We meet the children on a one-on-one basis, going to schools and inviting them to take part. They know that they're getting good value for money with a goody bag, a nice medal and animation before the start of the races."

Read more...

Yoga Saved My Career

For an athlete there’s nothing more frustrating than an injury picked up on the eve of a major event. Fortunately in most cases this turns out to be a minor setback. Not always, however: as Robert Attard found out to his expense, certain injuries can be career threatening.

Attard’s nightmare started in March 2001 at a time when he was one of Malta’s leading long distance runners. “I was preparing for the Small Nations Games and did a session of 5 x1000 in 2:55 each,” he recalls. “It was the first session of the year with the spike shoes and I had very tight calfes after the session. I did not take too much notice of it and eventually I had a lot of inflammation in the ankles caused by the shortening of the tendons. I continued to run for more than a year with the pain but in May 2002 I had to stop and did not compete for three and a half years after that.”

The main problem was identifying the cause of his troubles. “I was visiting various physios in Malta but no one really guided me how to treat the injury. My injury seemed a novelty for them.”

I Thought I Would Never Run Again
Attard admits that at times it was a disheartening situation. “There were times when I thought that I will never be able to run again. I used to pray to be able to run at least 30 minutes a day or at least to do just one race as I used to do in the past.”

“It was very difficult as running was always a priority in my life. I started running in 1986 when I was 13 so I don't know much of life without running. There were times when I was getting myself addicted to bad habits as well and I also put some fifteen kilograms of extra weight. Additional weight makes it more difficult to treat any injury but when an injury takes so long there are times when you are motivated to cure it and there are others when you just lose interest.”

It says a lot about the strength of his character that Attard still wouldn’t give up. His search for a cure took him abroad and at the doorstep of some famous doctors. “My father told me about Simon Costain who he had visited him some years earlier. Costain owns the Gait and Posture Centre in Harley Street, London. He is the personal physio of Paula Radcliffe who is the female world record holder for the marathon. He was also the physio of the British team at the Olympic Games of Barcellona in 1992.”

“I did the ortotics – which are specialised soles - at his clinic and he suggested that I do a lot of stretching. My visit to London was very useful as I still use the ortotics that I did there. But as it was a one day consultation and I couldn't not keep continuous contact with him to inform him of how things were developing.”

An Unlikely Cure
The cure, however, came from an unlikely source. “Ultimately, a friend of mine Oglive Borg convinced me to start practising yoga. He had been telling me for a year that he was the only person that could help me out with my injury. The idea of doing yoga did not appeal to me as I felt that it was a feminine thing but in 2004 I decided to give it a try. It was March and by August I started to jog again as the inflammation had gone by virtue of long hours of stretching. It was the start of a very slow process to get to full fitness.”

“I set October 2005 as the target date to start competing again and managed to keep it. Incidentally my first race back was cancelled due to a technical error by the judges and after the second race I got injured again and had to stop for a couple of months. But 2006 was a good year as I managed to stay away from any injuries and have competed regularly.”

For an athlete used to winning on a regular basis, it must have been difficult for Attard to get used to simply being one of many, even if he has already pushed himself among the top five long distance runners in Malta.

“I feel that I am on the brink to return to my best form. I am doing some very good training but training is something for me. Others judge you from what you produce in races so I have to transform my training form into races. I have been piling 90 to 100 miles a week for the last 5 months so I have a good base now.”

On The Right Track
“I am confident because training form shows you that you are on the right track. What I really need at the moment is a good race that gives me additional confidence for future races.”

His biggest challenge to date was this year’s half marathon, where Attard showed just how well he is progressing by finishing third overall and the first Maltese athlete.

“I actually wrote down 1 hour twelve minutes as my target on the application form so I got that absolutely spot on.”

“I have a personal best of 1.08 but that was a long time ago. For the time being I am satisfied as at least I know where I stand but I want to run much faster. But being the first Maltese, something that I did way back in 1994 and 1995 in the half and in 1996 in the full, and third overall was a huge satisfaction having been absent for eight years.”

That result has fuelled his desire to keep on improving. “My short term goals are to return running the 5km and 10km to at least something around 15 minutes and 32 minutes respectively. These times will help me reach my long term goals which are to improve my personal bests in the half and full marathon whilst hopefully having a go at both national records.”

Mellieha AC My Only Help
His task isn’t without difficulties. “I am training mornings and evening and that is really hard to cope without any assistance whatsoever. Also, to improve my times especially in the marathons I have to go abroad as we have only one chance in Malta to do so and they are held concurrently. In this respect I would really like to thank my club Mellieha AC who are the only source of help that I have.”

Having already helped his club to the MAAA Club’s League title – “that was very important for me as I knew that it was difficult to win the individual title” – he’ll be focusing on the track for the coming weeks although that doesn’t mean he is looking at the Small Nations’ Games.

“To qualify for the Small Nations one needs to compete regularly on the track from March to June with the objective to peak in June. But the standards set for qualifying are very high and, in my opinion, these are having a negative affect on long distance running in Malta. However, I am still willing to improve my timings on the track.”

In the meantime, he’ll be running in the Dingli 10 to be held next Monday. “I’ve ran in the Dingli 10 on three occasions and won it once. I have a personal best of 55:41 when I was second in 1999 to David Opiro. If I manage a minute slower and a pace in the top three, I will be happy.”

Read more...

Record Rounds Off a Great Indoor Season

There are plenty of positives for Maltese athletics to take from the European Indoors despite the fact that none of the three athletes made it through to the next round.

Diane Borg's new national record of 7.60s in the 60m was a fantastic feat for this sixteen year old and means that she has now improved the record time by 0.16seconds.

This, should not overshadow Charlene Attard's performance and result of 7.82s was a great time as well. Attard has shown plenty of character this season to run improve the outdoor record in the 60m three times in as many weeks. Together, this two athletes will spearhead Malta's bid to gain a record number of gold medals at the next Small Nations' Games. Not to mention that they have broken six records over the last month.

Given that he went out to beat his own national record, Darren Gilford will probably have been disappointed by his result of 6.92s. He should not. The training he's done so far this season will serve him later on during the year and the gradual improvement in his results indicates that he is gearing toward peak performance when it really counts.

Read more...

European Indoor Preview: Attard Looking for Fourth Record in Four Weeks

The three pre-season meets held by the MAAA over the past weeks had one common result: three national records by Charlene Attard in the 60m dash.

Her first record came on the tenth of February when she ran a 7.79s, a time which she improved by a week later 0.2s. Then last weekend she went even further with a time of 7.66s in the third pre-season meet.

Naturally, the fact that there is no indoor track in Malta means that all these records are for the 60m outdoor yet they still showcase her potential. After all, Attard also held the indoor national record before it was broken by Diane Borg earlier this year.

“Compared to last year where I suffered a lot through injuries, I knew that I was fully fit so felt that I would be getting a good result. You have to have faith in yourself and your ability and that is what I tried to do.”

Her character was put to the test when, having just broken the record for the second time, the news came through that Borg had gone even better in an indoor competition in Brunel. Yet this, Attard insists, didn’t influence her.

“I think that the fact that I came back to break the national record for the third time shows that it didn’t influence me. I’m not one to dwell on what the others are doing and instead opt to focus on my own performances.”

Which, in Birmingham, will be focused on reclaiming the indoor record. “I’m fully focused on the event and my main ambition is to set a new personal best and, consequently a national record.”

Read more...

European Indoor Championship Preview: Second English Trip for Gilford

One of the disadvantages of living on an island where it is sunny virtually every day of the year is the lack of any indoor facilities: there simply isn't the need for them. Yet this can be problematic for an athlete looking to prepare for a major indoor championship.

The solution, as an increasing number of Maltese athletes is finding out, lies in travelling to other parts of Europe where there is a rich indoor tradition in order to train and compete there.

This is exactly what the leading Maltese sprinter Darren Gilford did earlier during the year with a trip to England.

“Since in Malta we don’t have an indoor track the only solution is to go abroad,” he confirmed. “I was training in a high performance stadium along with England’s best athletes. Unfortunately it only lasted for 12 days. It’s not enough for a proper training camp because it should be longer but that’s what I can afford!”

The training camp was in Bolton where they have very good facilities both for indoors and outdoors. I must say that the Bolton club welcomed me very well and I was even invited to join their club, an invitation that I accepted. My coach Jivko Jethcev and myself spent most of the days training indoors as well as in one of the largest fitness gym in England.”

The trip also allowed him to experience high level competition thanks to an invitation to take part in the Norwich Union European Trials and UK Championships held in Sheffield.

“I was looking forward to it a lot because it’s the place where Britain's best go head to head. I managed to qualify for the semi-finals. I was in a good shape but ran far from my personal best, which stands at 6.76. Running my personal best would have put me in the top eight in the UK.”

That personal best would have meant a national record, of which Gilford is the holder, the same record that in Birmingham will once again be his main target.

Read more...