Six athletes represented Malta at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held a year late and behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Athletes could only enter the village five days before competing and had to leave within 48 hours of finishing. Shooter Eleanor Bezzina and swimmer Andrew Chetcuti carried the flag together at the Opening Ceremony, under a new IOC rule allowing each nation a female and a male flag bearer.
Weightlifter Yazmin Zammit Stevens became Malta’s first female Olympic weightlifter, lifting 84kg in the snatch and a national record 105kg in the clean and jerk for a 189kg total. Andrew Chetcuti, at his third consecutive Games, finished second in his 100m freestyle heat in 51.47.
Matthew Abela became the first Maltese badminton player at the Olympics and fought hard against 11th seed Shi You Qi of China, losing 21-8, 21-9. Sixteen-year-old Sasha Gatt swam 4:19.78 in the 400m freestyle and 16:57.47 in the 1500m.
Bezzina finished 26th in the 10m Air Pistol and 41st in the 25m Pistol, after months without competition or training. On the last day, 20-year-old medical student Carla Scicluna made her Olympic debut in the 100m, qualifying from the preliminary round in 12.12 to race in the same heat as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Dr Lucienne Attard was Chef de Mission, and Maria Vella-Galea was among those thanked by MOC President Julian Pace Bonello for their work on the Games, as the MOC’s Director of Media and PR.
