The last time that the national record for the Shot Putt for men was set at 13.80metres, most of the athletes currently gracing athletics at the Marsa were yet to be born.

A few others, like European certified Technical Official Joseph Farrugia, entrusted with the certification of the feat last Saturday, remarked that he remembered clearly that by-gone day in 1991, as he himself was competing.

Back then it was Tristan Meadows of La Salle Tristar who wrote his name in the book. Obviously, at the time little did anyone think that the record would last that long. Lawrence Ransley is now the proud holder, beating the distance by 18cm with the last throw of the day.

To make it an afternoon to remember, another member of the Pembroke Athleta club, Andy Grech, yet again on the field, leapt, hopped and skipped the Triple Jump to land 16cm further away from the 2006 record set by Rachid Chouhal at the Andorra Games for Small States.

These records came in the wake of a number of others being set at regular intervals, underlining the vigourous measures being taken through many quarters to bring Malta’s elite performers nearer to the exploits of other European athletes, especially from those countries that carry away most of the hardware during the Games of Small States of Europe.

What’s more, it would seem that the EA flagship event, the European Championships to be held in Helsinki and later on, the London Olympics, are a source of inspiration for our athletes to produce better and better results.

If anything, the athletic meeting last Saturday witnessed strong entries, especially in the sprinting events, with multiple heats being contested.

In the 100 and 200m, Rachid Chouhal continues to be the leading light, while the dominace of Diane Borg in the same events continues unabated.

Another exciting contest was the 400m men, in which Neil Brimmer warded off the strong challenge of Matthew Croker to re-affirm his hold on the one-lap sprint.

Then there were the events for the younger categories, with their very own well established names, like Starmax athletes Nicole and Nadine Gatt, Rebecca Fitz and Eric Borg Saywell for Allcomers Aloysians as well as Pembroke’s Luke Camilleri, making their presence felt by their superior performances.