Azzopardi shines in Maltese ‘home coming’

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete Josh Azzopardi returned triumphantly to his great-grandfather’s birthplace, the sundrenched Mediterranean island of Malta, by winning the 100m event at the EAP International Meet.

It was an emotional victory for Sydney-sider Azzopardi, who clocked 10.51 running into a headwind (-1.3) at the Matthew Micallef St John Stadium, as he defeated Kolbeinn Hoour Gunnarsson of Iceland and Oliver Sweeney of Ireland.

“Malta has been awesome,” said Azzopardi. “I haven’t been here since I was seven years old. It’s a beautiful island ,and I’ll definitely be coming back more often. It was really special for me to come out and run in Malta.

“My grandfather’s cousin was in the crowd, and it was amazing to have her there. She’s been supporting me over Facebook for a long time . . .  always sends me her congratulations. So, to come over and race in front of her and put a smile on her face was absolutely awesome.”

Azzopardi, who was a member of the Australian Athletics team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, is returning from a hamstring injury that frustrated his domestic season. With his win in Malta following hot on the heels of his third placing in a meet in Germany, Azzopardi is pleased with his progress.

“The run wasn’t too bad,” said Azzopardi. “I was happy with how I was able to run relaxed and through the line, despite the headwinds making it tough to run a fast time.

“I was happy to be able to get some more race conditioning into my legs. The overall vibes [of the meet] were ‘up’. There was quite a solid crowd, and it was good to see the locals out there and loving their athletics.

“I’m quite happy with how I’m travelling at the moment, especially coming off that hamstring injury. I’m happy to be able to compete again and to build a solid foundation for future races.”

Azzopardi’s next challenge will be the Morton Games in Dublin, Ireland on July 14.

Meanwhile. NSWIS athlete and long jumper Samantha Dale also flew Australia’s flag alongside Azzopardi in Malta jumping an impressive 6.20m to win the event. While, in Belgium, 400m hurdler, Sarah Carli, a Tokyo Olympian enjoyed victory in 56.01.

Eighteen-year-old NSWIS athlete, Erin Shaw, kicked off her first senior European campaign with a solid equal sixth at the International de Sotteville-les-Rouen in northern France. Shaw, who finished fourth at last year’s Under 20 World Championships, jumped 1.86m.

Daniel Lane, NSWIS