History was made yesterday at the pool where Andrew Chetcuti, who lives in Dubai, made his native country proud yesterday as he grabbed the silver medal in the 100m freestyle.

It is the first time that a Maltese male swimmer won a medal at these Games.

In the process, he also clocked a personal best 51.98 seconds, beating his own 52 seconds which he had registered yesterday morning in the heats. The time for winning the morning heat was also the best registered among those taking part.

It was a personal triumph for the swimmer who received a good round of applause from all the Maltese present at the pool.

Chetcuti, winner of the silver medal at his first attempt in these Games, was obviously very happy.

Speaking to the press at the end of the event, he said: “I am very happy and proud to have won this medal for Malta. I never expected to finish in the top three, but after the first 50 metres, and seeing that I was still with the leaders, I thought I should give it a go and I succeeded in landing the silver medal.”

Chetcuti thanked his parents and dedicated the medal win to them. “I also want to thank the coach and the team members for helping me to integrate quickly within their ranks. I now want to look forward with optimism towards the future.”

Mark Sammut broke the record for the 200m backstroke twice. In the heats he had clocked 2:13.47 to beat his own 2:13.54. Andrea Agius also broke the 200m medley record previously held by Ryan Gambin – 2:16.40.

Most of the other swimmers managed to qualify for the finals after participating in the morning heats.

Mark Sammut finished sixth in the 200m backstroke final in a time of 2:13.35. Neil Agius was fifth in the 200m butterfly final in a time of 2:15.11. Andrea Agius finished seventh and last in the 200m individual medley final in a time of 2:15.68.

In the women’s finals, Nicola Muscat finished fourth in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2:26.52. In the 200m butterfly, Davina Mangion clocked 2:31.20 to finish sixth, while there were two Maltese swimmers in the 100m final. Unfortunately, they finished last in sixth and seventh place respectively. Pace clocked 1:00.79, while Muscat clocked 1:00.92.

Andy Colbourn, national coach, was extremely happy with the result. “This was a big bonus for us and the medal will be a source of inspiration for our remaining commitments, especially the relay events where we also hope to be successful,” he said.