There were two more gold medals for Malta as the first day of the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) drew to a close in Andorra on Tuesday night.
Malta had already secured gold medals courtesy of Jessica Vella in karate, the Women’s Doubles Team in table tennis, and Sasha Gatt in swimming, but there was more joy to come in Andorra.
Malta’s fourth gold medal came in athletics, specifically in the Women’s 800 metre race, as Gina McNamara reached the finish line before her competitors.
McNamara scored three gold medals in the last GSSE in 2023 which were held in Malta – in the 800 metre, 1,500 metre, and 5,000 metre races – and she will be hoping to defend her remaining titles in Andorra as this year’s games go on.
Janet Richard also finished third in the 800 metre race, earning herself a bronze medal.
There were other medals in the athletics to come.
Jared Micallef picked up a silver medal in the Men’s 800 metres, missing out on gold by less than half a second, while Jemima Louise Farley won the silver medal in the Women’s 10,000 metre race. Another silver followed in the Mixed 4x400 metre relay, where Team Malta - made up of Isaac Bonnici, Martha Spiteri, Jared Micallef, and Janet Richard - finished just three-quarters of a second behind eventual winners Cyprus.
There were bronze medals for Malta’s sprinters as well: Beppe Grillo picked up a third place finish in the Men’s 100 metres, while Thea Parnis finished third in the Women’s 100 metres as well.
Away from the track, there was joy in Artistic Gymnastics for Malta as well.
Gymnastics is quite a lesser spotted sport when it comes to the GSSE – the last time it was included in the games was in 2015 when the event was held in Iceland. Back then, Malta managed to bring home four medals, including a silver medal in the Women’s Team All-Around Category.
It was in this category though that on Tuesday – a decade later – the Maltese women’s team went one step further, bringing home the gold medal.
The team – made up of Sophie St John, Julia Galea, Janet Galea, Lyana Curmi Inguanez and Philippa Busuttil – finished in top spot with a combined score of 138.250 , which was enough to beat Iceland and Luxembourg, which finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The victory was propelled by strong showings in the Balance Beam, where three of the top four spots were occupied by Maltese athletes, and the Floor routines, where the Maltese gymnasts occupied three of the top five spots.
It means that at the end of Day 1 of the Games, Malta has picked up a total of 14 medals: five gold, four silver, and five bronze.
Malta’s athletes are well on their way towards reaching their established target of nine gold medals, which would be the highest number of gold medals that the country has ever achieved at a GSSE which is hosted abroad.
Cyprus currently top the medal table with 12 gold medals, followed by Luxembourg on 10 gold medals. Montenegro, Iceland, and Andorra have all – like Malta – won five gold medals, while Monaco have won three gold medals, and San Marino and Liechtenstein have won one each.