Top Runners Lining Up at Pembroke

At the Press Conference held at a leading hotel in St Julian’s the President of the Athletic Section at the Pembroke Athleta Sports Club Mr Victor Camilleri, gave details of this year’s Pembroke Races, which this year have reached the 15th edition. Most of Malta’s foremost runners will be taking part at the event on Sunday morning, the 5th April 2009.

Mr Camilleri explained that the entry for the 10km, the main race that kicks off the morning at 8.30 a.m. is briskly gathering pace, with Carol Walsh and Haithem Keishem, last yeasr’s winners, already having put in applications. Keen competitioin is expected, all the more so with the participation of past winners and in-form Jonathan Balzan, the winner of this year’s Malta Half-Marathon. Other leading athletes already registered were Angela Sammut, Joelle Cortis, Brian Magri and the first Maltese in the Malta Full Marathon Jason Martin, besides last year’s winner, Libyan Haithem Keishem and Drew Lang, among others. Mr Camilleri continued that Charles Micallef, a septuagarian who had participated at every edition since inception in 1995, had also put his name down with the full intention of retaining his 70-plus category trophy won last year.

Mr Camilleri went on to state that the entry for the Fun Run, which is an event open to all, was, as usual, already very encouraging signs. In fact all indications pointed to numbers that would near the over eleven hundred entries attracted in 2008. This event, for safety reasons will again be staged in series, with children segregated by their year of birth, as has been the established trademark at these events.

Other speakers at the Press Conference were Pembroke Mayor Joseph Zammit and Councillor responsible for youth and sport Alfred Mazzitelli. The former spoke of the link forged with the Club since the inception of these races and recalled the progress registered through the years with the races growing from around 300 participants in 1995 to five fold the number last year.

The Mayor continued that the Council, including all members past and present, acknowledged the sterling work being done by the Club and referred to the on-going talks with the Ministry of Education, the Sports Council and the Malta Olympic Committee to attain the rights to utilise school facilities after hours, for the benefit of the sporting clubs located in Pembroke. He concluded that in Pembroke Athleta the Council witnessed the true spirit of voluntary work, especially among youth, through the medium of sport.

Carol Walsh then reflected on her participation in the race through the years. While expressing the hope that she will be again fully fit to contest this edition, she stated that athletes should never despair and give up when affronted by difficulties that all athletes encounter. She said that coming out of injury, which inevitably afflicts all athletes, needed a lot of will power and discipline, but that it was all worth the effort in the end.
The President of the Club brought the Press Conference by again thanking all present, the many sponsor of the events, from major to small contributors, the athletes, parents and all those involved in the staging of this ever popular annual event.

Anthony Fava
PRO Pembroke Athleta

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