On a great afternoon, Malta’s athletes enjoyed their best day with 10 medals, a haul that took their overall tally to 37. The Maltese athletes won two gold, five silver and four bronze in various events on the track and field.
Carol Galea and Lisa Bezzina won gold and silver respectively in the 10,000m to complete Malta’s double sweep in three different disciplines.
In the 200m event, Charlene Attard managed a bronze, likewise Mario Bonello finished third.
On the field, Rachid Chouhal clinched silver in the triple jump while Jean Paul Callus won bronze in the javelin.
Shortly after, the women’s team of Charlene Attard, Diane Borg, Therese Mallia and Lara Scerri took two silver medals, behind Cyprus in the 4x400m and 1x400m relay races.
To cap a fine evening, the men’s 4x100m team of Mario Bonello, Rachid Chouhal, Darren Gilford Jeandre Mallia upset Luxembourg to take another gold medal. But the Maltese fans in the stadium drew breath from celebrating this victory as they watched their men’s 4x400m team land a shock silver medal after original runners-up Luxembourg were disqualified.
The final night of athletics at the Andorra la Vella City Stadium produced a series of electrifying performances. Malta’s Carol Galea started by adding the 10,000m gold to her 500m silver medal. Galea, 45, clocked 37.40.36.
At the end of the race, she revealed that her plans in a bid to start strongly were successful, leaving the athletes lagging behind. “As of the second lap, I was sure of my final victory”, she said. She heaped praise on Lisa Bezzina who took the silver medal.
Back to the action, Mario Bonello edged out Cyprus’ Georgallis to clinch the bronze medal as he bowed out of athletics. Charlene Attard grabbed a surprise bronze medal in the women’s 200m.
Malta’s men and women’s relay squads ensured they ended the GSSE on a high note, winning one gold, three silver in their respective events.
In the women's 1 x400m, Lara Scerri, Martina Xuereb, Charlene Attard and Diane Borg, set a new Malta record. Their time of 47.21 seconds saw them finish behind Cyprus.
At the finishing line, Diane Borg said that in the two years’ time, they will be able to end Cyprus’ reign.
But Malta’s 1x400m went some way to make up for the partial failure of their woman counterparts by taking gold. Malta recovered from a sloppy baton change as Rachid Chouhal drove them to victory.
An ecstatic Chouhal said: "Before the race, I spurred my mates that this time I will only be satisfied with a gold medal ". Mario Bonello explained that the team had a problem with the changeover but the team bond drove them to victory.
In the 4x400m women's event, pre-race favourites Cyprus won in 3.49.15. Malta finished second, clocking 3.50.29.
In the men’s event, Ivan Borg, Mario Bonello, Karl Farrugia and Nikolai Portelli landed a shock 4x400m silver after original runners-up Luxembourg were disqualified.
Nikolai Portelli produced a storming finish to snatch third place behind Cyprus and Luxembourg. But when the latter were disqualified, the Maltese were upgraded and San Marino got bronze.
Cyprus took the gold in 3:15.85, while Malta clocked 3:18.74 and San Marino recorded 3.20.33.