Special Feature

Malta in the San Marino 2001 GSSE

 The Road to San Marino

The ninth edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe is round the corner and the tiny republic of San Marino will become the first ever nation to host the Games twice.

The event has come a long way since San Marino hosted the first ever edition in 1985. Members of the Malta Olympic Committee had been toying with the idea of organizing these Games since the early eighties, but although other nations were very receptive to the idea, very little tangible developments were registered.

The breakthrough came prior to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the final proposals were submitted to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Huan Antonio Samaranch, who greeted the initiative with open arms.

San Marino boldly accepted to organize these Games for the first time and all participating countries were offered complimentary accommodation for 20 persons. Airfares were sponsored by the IOC and the first Games spanned a four day period and were contested by just over 300 athletes. Seven disciplines heralded the first edition of these Games and these included swimming, athletics, cycling, weightlifting, shooting, judo and basketball. Malta's contingent included 21 athletes and was headed by Bertie Muscat as the Chef- De-Mission. The Malta Olympic Committee decided not to compete in athletics and swimming, and all in all, the Games served as an eye-opener that Malta needed to invest heavily in sports infrastructure as it was till lacking behind the rest of its European counterparts.

The 1985 Games will forever be remembered for the bronze medal which the Maltese won in basketball. Marshalled by coach John Tabone, the Maltese won a decisive encounter against Andorra (71-66) to clinch the bronze medal. The other local contestants failed to win a place on the podium even though Gauci narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in shooting. The Games have long experienced major changes in the past 15 years. Nowadays, ten disciplines are contested and the number of athletes has more than doubled since the first edition.

In the past eight editions, Maltese athletes have won a total of 109 medals, 17 of which were gold. Judo ranks as the most successful discipline with a total of 29 medals amassed over the past years, including six gold.

Local athletes are now once again in the thick of the tussle to win a place in the contingent for San Marino. Over the next few days, selections and trials will be contested in all the ten disciplines to determine the final outcome. In San Marino, Maltese athletes will be competing in athletics, swimming, cycling, judo, shooting, tennis, table-tennis, bowls, volleyball and basketball. All the disciplines, with the exception of bowls, have been contested in past editions.

The Maltese contingent, led by Pippo Psaila as Chef-De-Mission will number over 100 athletes. This will be the largest ever contingent to participate in these Games outside our shores. In fact, Malta can still boast of a record number of entries in 1993 when a total of 803 athletes (including 126 locals) competed in the Games.

Reference: Portelli L (1993) The Games of the Small States of Europe - From San Marino to Malta. Guttenburg Press

Basketball

Bowls (Bocci)

Cycling

Judo

Shooting

Swimming

Table-Tennis

Tennis

Volleyball