The two Xuereb twins – Martina and Francesco – as well as Owen Camilleri are taking part in this year’s IAAF world junior (Under 20) championships taking place in Bydgoszcz, Poland, between 8 and 13 July.

The Xuereb twins, 17, will be taking part in the 400m while Camilleri, 19, is to take part in the 200m.

Martina and Francesca qualified by doing the qualifying time; first time ever

For Owen, this is the first time he is taking part in a world championship, even if in the past year he participated in the European Juniors held in the Netherlands and a few weeks ago he also formed part of the Maltese team that took part in the European Cup in Slovakia.

He is hoping to produce a good performance and try to improve his personal best.

For the Xuereb twins, world championships are no new business. After last year’s performance in the World Youth Championships where Francesca made it to the final and Martina to the semi-final, they now focus their attention on this event even if they are aware that here the story will be different.

Just turning 17 a few months ago, and running with the world’s best athletes older than them, they can only hope that they can perform a good race and gain experience so that in two years’ time, they will be able to leave their mark.