The XX Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, came to a close on 3rd September after almost two weeks of competition. For Team Malta the Games brought a historic result in cycling and a string of strong individual performances against some of the best athletes in the Mediterranean.
The standout moment came in the men’s road race, where Andrea Mifsud finished fifth in 3:01:26. It is the best result ever achieved by a Maltese cyclist at Games of this level. Mifsud was supported by teammates Bernard Galea and Aidan Buttigieg in a tactically demanding race that split into several groups.
On the tennis courts, Alex Degabriele and Liam Delicata silenced a partisan home crowd in the men’s doubles quarter-final. After dropping the first set 3-6 to Italy’s Carlo Caniato and Filippo Romano, they won the second 7-5 and then took the deciding tiebreak.
In athletics, Jeremy Zammit produced one of the performances of his Games with a 7.61m jump in the long jump final, edging back towards his national record of 7.84m after previous setbacks.
Sailor Katrina Micallef finished 12th in a women’s fleet that included World and European title holders and several Olympians. Micallef and Zammit were chosen to carry Malta’s flag at the Closing Ceremony.
Throughout the Games, daily Team Malta updates were published by the Maltese Olympic Committee, where Maria Vella-Galea serves as Director of Media and PR.
