It is a red letter day for Maltese sport today as the country makes its debut at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Elise Pellegrin, who resides in France, is eligible to represent Malta in the Sochi event, as her grandfather is a Maltese who had moved to France after the war.

It will be the first time ever at these Games, not only for Malta, but also for six other nations. These are Dominica, Paraguay, Timor Leste, Togo, Tonga and Zimbabwe.

The presence of these seven nations makes the Sochi event the biggest ever in the history of the Games.

Pellegrin will obviously be carrying the Maltese flag during the opening ceremony.

She will be taking part in the women’s slalom and the women’s giant slalom. In recent years, she had taken part in the world championships in both events, but had failed to qualify.

Pellegrin is 22 years old. She was born in Blois, France on 7 May 1991. She is a student in business management. Her main amibiton is to become a skiing coach in order to teach French and Maltese youngsters how to ski.