Strong winds and cold weather were not the best conditions for the second athletics pre-season meeting. Despite these conditions, several athletes dug deep and managed to reap some benefits off their hard work.

A particular athlete who left his mark on the day was 16 year old Andrew Cassar Torreggiani, with a new Long Jump record leap in the Junior and Intermediate categories of 6.80m. This is the second time that Cassar Torreggiani has managed a record in this event, by now a clear indication that the scholarship he is currently seeing through in the UK is leaving its dividends.

Owen Camilleri picked-up where he left off in first pre-season meeting, with wins in both the 60m and 150m sprints. Although slow out of the blocks, Owen quickly regained ground on his counterparts over 60m sprinting home in 7.16s. With some advice from his experienced coach, Owen made amends to his start in the 150m, having him sprint to a comfortable win in 16.57s.

The absence of Charlene Attard saw Lara Scerri take over with wins over 60m and 150m sprints. This was Lara’s first competition this year, and we’re sure to see more from here this season, especially when she goes head-to-head with her compatriot and training partner Charlene.

Over the longer distances, Giselle Camilleri and Haithem Kisheim continued with winning ways covering the distance of 2,000m in 6:55.63 and 5:57.47 respectively.

Each meeting has its close fought battles, and this meeting wasn’t any different. In a beautifully run 600m race, Mark Herrera and Mario Debono where at it all throughout. With 250m to go, Debono decided to break for the lead only to find out that Herrera had in him a stronger finish, stopping the clock on 1:23.66 – a mere 14 split seconds ahead of Debono.