The young Maltese gymnasts were also making their debut in these Games and nothing special was expected of them.

However, after a few exercises, Anna Maria Cassola, the Deputy Technical Director of the Gymnastics Federation, said: “Some of the teams taking part here, especially the Icelandic girls team, are very strong. Our youngsters are newcomers on the scene. Yet, they have shown that they are talented with the boys even close to a place in the final.”

She added that she had expected something better from the girls, especially in the vault, but on the whole, there have been some satisfying results.

Michael Brown, national coach of the boys squad, commenting after two events,said: “ My boys are doing quite well. However, their best is yet to come, The vault and the floor exercises are our forte and I expect them to be challenging for qualification even if the level seems to be very high,” he said.

At the end of the team competitions, results were not so disappointing as one might have thought, considering that the Maltese youngsters were taking part in such an event for the first time.

The men’s team finished fourth with a points total of 164.500. Iceland won the event with 230.200 points.

The women’s team, finished fifth with 117.900 points. The winners were Iceland with 155.500 points.

The individual placings saw Jeremy Saywell finishing ninth with 63.000 points, Philip Caruana Turner 10th on 57.700 and Terrence Gatt 15th on 43.850.

In the women’s competition, Audrey Kay Schembri finished 12th with 53.500 points, Christina Borg was 16th on 38.500, Francesca Borg 19th on 31.550 points and Roxanne Bonnici 21st on 23.500 points.