An interview with highly promising Triathlete Malcolm Vassallo, 15-year-old, an elite MOC athlete for the past 3 years, a fresh NSS school leaver, a timid guy yet a high achiever, a violinist and has a younger brother: Daryl Luke who is interested in Drama and is always accompanied by a book!

 

Malcolm, you have just finished the 5th form with success and your O Level results have just come out!  I was present at the last School Prize Day and apart from the endless list of first and second places in almost all subjects, you were even awarded The Minister's choice: Student of the Year.  Such results do not come by default but a mix of many things namely giving the right priorities, good memory, revision, paying thorough attention in class, love for studying etc. What lies beneath such remarkable results and what are your feelings during and post an exam? Your marks are close to full marks so it goes without saying that you are a perfectionist. How much do you give importance to the minimal details both at school and at triathlon races? Your future seems very bright. What are your intentions and dreams for the future?

I think that you can say that I love to learn and I take an interest in many of the subjects that I am taught.  This drives me to pay attention in class in particular when a new concept is explained.   As a character, contrary to what others might think, I do procrastinate.  I am a very relaxed, laid back person by nature.  However, on the other hand I have never missed an assignment and, when I do finally sit down to carry out a task, I do make sure that it is done very well.   I think my results come from taking a real interest in what goes around me, never missing up any work and really applying myself in whatever I have to do.

As exams are approaching I do sometimes go in panic mode, which makes me sit down and work hard.  Even then I do tend to study in fits and starts but the time that I really dedicate to studying, I really concentrate hard.  I am a very logical person and I have a knack for subjects like Maths and Physics.  However, I do have to revise frequently subjects that require more memory work.

Detail is so very important when you have to give in an important assignment, or are preparing for examinations.  It is attention to detail that makes you go up a higher notch and makes your work achieve higher value.  The same goes for my sport.  As triathlon has three sports in one, you do have to pay great attention to what you are doing well and to what you can improve.  Detail as in the strokes in swimming, the way you run, your equipment preparation before a race or how you handle the transitions in a race, can mean a world of difference on how you perform in a race.

Although I am an athlete I do give academics a lot of weight in my life.  Through my school, the National Sports School, I have been able to participate in the 9th Edition of the Malta Mathematics Olympiad, managing to achieve Third Place Overall in the Individual Competition.  I have also participated, as a team together with other students of my school, in the Malta Junior Science Olympiad 2018, which we have won as a school.  That was really a proud moment.  Because of this I was given the opportunity to participate in the Go4Research program, which has enabled me to do an internship program at the University of Malta and focus on Statics in the Department of Maths and Physics.  The best feeling from all this though was proving that athletes can not only focus on their sport, but also on their academics and do well in both.

Right now I have just received my O-Level results.  I feel very positive for my academic future as I managed to get very good results notwithstanding the fact that I did not miss a single training session.  Now I will be attending Junior College and concentrate on my A-levels, after which I will decide whether to continue my studies in Malta or abroad.

 

Malcolm, your school embraces the dual career path and you are the perfect example of combining studies with sports. To make it harder, Triathlon is one of the most arduous sports ever. It demands mental and physical strength but time consuming too. You need to master three disciplines: Swimming, cycling and running.  How do you classify them according to your abilities? How did you manage all this? Tell us how is it a week in your life as a triathlete and a student? As in everything, there is room for improvement, which areas do you think you need most to better?

Triathlon is in fact a very tough sport.  It is an endurance sport in which you have to train three very different disciplines, swimming, cycling and running.  A typical race for my age consists of 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km rum and takes roughly over an hour, so besides being physically fit, you have to be mentally strong to keep on going even when you feel that you cannot go on any more.  However, having three sports to train means that one can never really get bored doing triathlon.

I roughly train eight sessions per week, sometimes having multiple sessions in one day, with one day being my rest day.  Sessions held during the week are roughly between one to two hours depending on the type of session.  However weekend sessions usually take up all morning.  Assignments and studying will have to fit in between school and training.  When I am on a tight schedule and under pressure, I tend to work more efficiently and sometimes even better!

Besides participating in multisport races, I also do single sport races.  These help me gauge my improvement in each sport on its own.  I do believe that running is my forte.  In my last 5k road race I have managed to clock 17:12, achieving a 10th overall place among some of the best runners on the island.  I was the youngest competitor and ran with athletes from all ages.  This is an achievement considering that I only practice running two times a week.

I think that out of all three, swimming requires the most sacrifice from my part.  It is not because of the sport itself, but because I love to sleep in late whenever I can and love to drag every minute that I can before I get out of bed.  Unfortunately, for swimming I have to wake up at 5am in the morning in order to do my training session before school.  In winter, the weather also plays its part. 

Cycling was until recently my weakest sport in triathlon.  In order to improve it, I started to take part in the cycling championship. This has helped me improve much and progress further in the sport.

Even though I am doing very well in triathlon, I must admit that there is a lot of room for improvement in all three disciplines.  I always try to listen to my coaches and people who really mean well.  As one of the youngest on the triathlon scene, besides having to improve in the three disciplines, I am still quite inexperienced when it comes to the more difficult races.  There are race tactics that you have to try and see what works out best for you.  I really appreciate the fact that there is always someone who is ready to give a tip or a word of advice.  It is not the first time that other coaches or other more experienced athletes share their experience or point of view about their race and mine, and this I truly appreciate.

 

 

You are a MOC Elite Athlete, you are highly considered by both the Malta Triathlon Federation and the Cycling Federation where they sent you twice and once respectively on training camps abroad. Having MOC and two federations behind you at the age of 15 is already a massive feat by itself. This year, notwithstanding that you had the O level exams, you competed in The Eurosport National Duathlon Championship 2018.  You won 1st place U20 and 4th Overall.  I think this is the best achievement so far but which speaks volumes. Apart from this, I can add the endorsements underneath by the Head of School and the Coach where they trust you blindly. How do you explain such blind trust in your favour from so many entities and persons where in today s life, trust has become something rare?

I must admit that I feel honoured with the trust so many people have in me.  However, for each second of improvement in my time, there is a team of people behind me.  I do not consider my achievements as my own, but theirs as well.  

I have been training triathlon for the past five years.  This all started by chance when a triathlon coach, Matthew Azzopardi, spotted me running and asked me if I would be interested in the sport.  That was the day that changed my life.  He introduced me to the sport under MYTA, the Triathlon Federation Youth Academy, and coached me for four years, giving me a good foundation in the sport.  Following these years we both decided that it was time to move on and for me to start training with more experienced athletes in the group. 

So last year I joined Team Fabio with Fabio Spiteri as my coach.  Fabio definitely needs no introduction as he has just done the International Triple Ultra Triathlon!  It is a strange feeling to having such a sport idol as your coach!   Fabio is a very attentive coach.  He constantly makes me aim for better results while emphasizing the need for a balance in school, sport, rest and entertainment.  Team Fabio is a great team.  Even though all the other athletes in the group are adults, I was made very welcome from the start and have made some great friends.  In a way it is strange, but I know more adults than youths of my age because of this. 

As from last year I have stopped competing in the youth races and started competing with the adults.  Continuing to compete with the same four youths does not make much sense when one is always making a podium finish.  It only shows that you are one of the best out of those four.  However, competing with a larger and more adult crowd is a real gauge of your level.  I was in fact surprised that I did very well, especially when comparing the difference in age and experience.  That was a huge step in my sport development.   

I was fortunate enough to manage to qualify for the National Sports School three years ago.  I could not have asked for a better school as it has helped me in so many areas of development.  It gave me a confidence I did not know I had and very good time management skills.  I also got excellent academic preparation for my O-levels so I avoided having to go to private tuition and concentrate more on my exams and sport.  I wholeheartedly thank Mr. Micallef the school headmaster, and all the teachers and staff for making these three years a unique experience.

As goes without saying, the Triathlon Federation also played an important role in my life as an athlete.  I started my triathlon experience under its youth academy - MYTA.  As I progressed, the Triathlon Federation continued to give me the necessary support even sending me abroad for training camps.  The MOC are also supporting me in my sporting career, having put their trust in me by selecting me to be in their Youth Elite Scheme for three consecutive years.

In the last few months, the Cycling Federation have also shown their interest in me and have in fact sent me abroad for a fifteen day training camp.  This was a very good opportunity to improve my cycling skills.  Training camps give you the chance to train with athletes from other countries and gain experience.  However in my opinion the sport in which you gain most experience when training abroad is the cycling.  Unfortunately Malta is what it is, small and traffic packed.  It does not offer the distances or the elevation that one really needs for proper cycling training, and the cycling lanes on our roads are made for commuting not for proper training, not speaking about the very bad attitude that some drivers have on the road.  Maybe some drivers need to see it from our perspectives. We are people who work hard to improve in our sport while balancing other commitments such as school or work, who have a family waiting at home and do not need to risk our lives to train because someone does not have the patience to wait a few seconds.                   

However my greatest supporters are my family.  My parents are not sports-people, however triathlon has not only affected my life, but also theirs.  As I am still young, I have to be driven to every training session, so they have to wake up at 5am with me and have dinner when I am done from my last session of the day.  My mother also attends most of my training sessions.  A few months after I started triathlon, I had a bad accident with another cyclist....blood, ambulance, the run to the emergency department....thankfully my coach Matthew and my mother were there when it happened, and luckily all went well leaving just a two inch scar on my thigh.  However this really affected my mother, who until recently, kept insisting to stay all through any training session.

My little brother Daryl is one of my greatest fans as is my grandfather.  They come to nearly all of my races whatever time they have to wake up, and knowing that they have to endure basking sun while watching me race. I love it when I pass by my parents or Daryl and I would hear a 'Come On Malcolm', Daryl's being the shrillest of them all. 

Triathlon is not a cheap sport. Though I do have sponsors and financial help through schemes, however, this is only the tip of the iceberg.  Three sports including coaching fees, races local or abroad, flights for training camps abroad, equipment and the upkeep of the equipment itself amounts to quite a lot of money per year.  For this I once again thank my main sponsors - my parents.

Many people who might be reading the article might not understand the pressure that having so many people believing in you entails.  All these people and associations have touched my life and they all have supported me and invested in me in one way or another.  I really do feel pressure and I am a nervous wreck before each and every race.  I would never want to let them down.  However, knowing this makes me more determined to improve and train harder. 

Maybe many people trust me as they know that I take all my training, and anything I take up, very seriously.  I never make up excuses and I very rarely miss a training session.  It is not the first time that I went for a running or swimming session in heavy rain in winter, only to find out that I am one of the few people there!  I also believe myself to be very trustworthy and loyal.  I never back off from a challenge and when a new exciting opportunity comes up, after seriously evaluating it, I am ready to take it with the same determination as always.

 

Malcolm, you are Amazing. Nowadays, students are backed up by their parents who keep complaining for long training hours, too many homework, private tuition etc.... and yet you manage to add further!! You sat for O level in Physical Education which subject you didn't learn at school and you play violin. What about the violin? Is it just a hobby or something more? I can vouch that you rarely post on fb!! Your posts are mainly tagged by others. Surely you don t invest time on social media. Am I right or got the wrong impression? What about your time management which to me seems you excel considerably too? If and when you avail of free time, what do you like doing most?

Time management plays a very important role.  You have to make time for the things that are most important.  As much as studying and training, rest and relaxation are equally important.

I do have a number of hobbies, though the time for these is quite limited.  When my brother and I were young, my mother introduced us to art and sport.  I took up the sport while my brother is more on music and drama.  I did play the violin for a number of years, however, when I was asked to take it up more seriously, I had just got into the National Sports School and triathlon was becoming more serious, so unfortunately I had to stop.

My favourite way to wind off at the end of the day like most other children my age is on social media. It is true that I rarely post on Facebook, as in my opinion I only post that what is really worth posting. In fact, most of my posts are race results! However, I have a close group of friends with whom I go out whenever I can and with whom I play computer games online to really relax. 

 

 

The interview couldn't be effective without the feedback of Fabio Spiteri who has been coaching Malcolm for the past year. I dare say, Fabio, that your character is very contrasting with that of Malcolm. You are a joyful outspoken guy, promoting your sports, raising awareness on many issues at all the times, using social media continuously and effectively! You literally transformed local Triathlon to lofty heights. Malcom is a timid guy, shuns the spotlight and yet his achievements in sports are remarkable. How is your approach to this type of character and kindly shed some light to Malcolm s character since very few of us know about Malcolm s character?

I am a coach of a big team and I can tell you all my athletes have different characters but then it's my job to blend in with the athletes and keep the group working. Malcolm is the most timid and shy of them all, he hardly speaks but you can see him smiling or giggling when one of us says a joke. Characters can be of all sorts and types but what I look for an athlete is determination, will power and to give the 100%. Malcolm, even though being the youngest in my team (15 years old) he is one of the most dedicated athletes, if not the most!! I give him pace and targets during training and races and he's always on spot or slightly ahead. I also keep an eye on his recovery as its easily for a coach to forget he's just 15 years old while he is doing these super-fast times amongst the elite section. Great future indeed!

 

Mr Micallef, am confident you pride yourself that your school has managed to attract Grade A students and elite athletes and now they are going from strength to strength. I reckon that Malcolm Vassallo is one of the most successful stories at the NSS. Having him for 3 years, allowed you to have a better understanding of Malcolm. What do you think are his virtues behind such grand talent in sports and academics?

Malcolm enrolled at The National Sport School in Year 9 opting to leave a very good independent school to pursue a dual career path at NSS. We knew he had very good academic attributes and that he was a promising triathlete but what struck me most in him was his humility and willingness to improve further every single day while adapting to new surroundings. These were crucial indicators that he would become one of the most successful student-athletes at our school despite the fact that his sport required the onus of training hard in three disciplines. The excellent rapport between his family and the school ensured that we could all work together in harmony to get the best out of Malcolm. He worked really hard to achieve exceptional academical results and earn his place among the top 10 male triathletes on the Island. And yet he remains extremely grateful to all those at school who have supported him all along his journey. Indeed, another role-model who we are so proud of.