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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS require more than passion and dedication. Body and mind "Doing sport at a high lev- el, whether professional or semi-professional, can be very stressful and anxiety-provok- ing. A high number of athletes experience high levels of anxie- ty in the months leading up to a top-level competition," the sports psychologist Dr Adele Muscat told MaltaToday, who also lectures in physical educa- tion and sports. Muscat spent 13 years working at the MOC, having also competed in two Olympic Games, two Common- wealth Games, one Mediterra- nean Games, and several Games of Small States. As the sports psychologist for the national sports school, Muscat knows how difficult it is for athletes to train hard while maintaining a healthy-life balance. "Most athletes have to deal with their work or studies, fam- ily and social life, apart from life challenges in general. And there was the COVID-19 pan- demic and the psychological challenges that athletes had to face, when not being able to train and compete properly." When the Olympic games were postponed in 2020, Mus- cat was concerned at how this would be a challenge for athletes preparing the Olym- pics since they might not have planned to spend another year fully focused on the games. "Of course, you will have one or two that may say 'It may be an opportunity for me to get even better by the time the Olympics is back'. But for the majority, it is a negative experience," Mus- cat told MaltaToday. But this year's Tokyo games were also highlighted by the issue of mental health, when American artistic gymnast and reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles, pulled out at the last minute from the women's gymnastics team final. "Athletes must be supported," Muscat said. "The first way is through coun- selling, especially for high-lev- el athletes, and the second is mental skills training for better concentration and anxiety man- agement. "Top-level Maltese athletes can access such services in Mal- ta if they so wish, either through the MOC or the Football Asso- ciation or Malta Football Play- ers Association. Student ath- letes at the University of Malta can seek support through the Student-Athlete support pro- gramme at the University of Malta and young athletes at the national sport school also have access to a sport psychologist. I'm of the opinion that more im- portance is to be given to sports psychology and supporting the elite athlete psychologically." A €5 million plan The need to give athletes the right mental support still needs to be supported by a structure that allows them to become elite performers in their sport. The MOC bravely says it "will not shy away from addressing the weaknesses and will contin- ue its work amongst these ath- letes" Yet four years ago, Balzan was asked by the Maltese gov- ernment to produce a strategy highlighting what was needed to achieve better results: he said it would cost the State €5 million for a system that would create a difference, with profession- al coaches and a proper talent identification programme start- ing from a very young age, sim- ilar to a tested system used in Australia and Iceland. "Sporting education needs to start from a young age if ath- letes are to be helped in com- bining sport and academia to ensure that athletes have a fall- back plan once a sports career is over, Balzan said. "The MOC's Youth Development Scheme focuses on talent identification and a long-term athletic devel- opment plan for the identified athletes. Selected athletes are given access to funding, a selection of services including nutrition, psychology, coaching as well as regular functional diagnostic laboratory testing. The progres- sion of each athlete is moni- tored closely to ensure that ob- jectives are being achieved." Balzan is confident that the re- sults will one day come. But Olympic champions are not created overnight. "The Games of the Small States of Europe in 2023, in Malta should reap some posi- tive results and surprises, but the main goal is to provide high level athletes who will produce encouraging results. Paris 2024 will be a good start. "A medal in the Olym- pic Games will eventually hap- pen, but only if all stakeholders come together to ensure that a coherent effort is put in for an implementation of a long-term vision for sport." An uphill battle A recent study by one of the Ministry of Educations' educa- tional officer Kevin J. Azzopar- di analysed the performance of small states in the Olympic summer games and the hurdles their athletes have to overcome. Over the span of more than a century, only 16 out of 48 small nations have ever managed to win a medal, with the grand to- tal amounting to 44. Bahamas tops the list with a total of 16 medals, with 14 of them arriving from athletics alone, and they are followed by Iceland with four. Below is the list of all medals won by the small states throughout the his- tory of the Olympic games: The smallest state to ever win an Olympic medal, prior to To- kyo 2020 was Bermuda, with a population of 62,278, but San Marino managed to overtake them in Tokyo with roughly half of the population (33,600). Overall, some of the best re- sults for the small states, have arrived in the new millenni- um; with nine medals arriving in Tokyo 2020, five in Sydney 2000, and four in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. In Tokyo, the Bahamas won two gold medals in athletics, with 25-year-old Steven Gar- diner in the men's 400 metres and Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the women's 400 metres. San Marino made history by winning two medals in shoot- ing. 33-year-old Alessandra Perilli claimed the bronze med- al in the women's trap event and then won a silver when teaming up with 38-year-old Gian Mar- co Berti in the trap mixed team. The Sammarinese continued to feature in the news, as in the men's Freestyle 86kg, 24-year- old wrestler Myles Nazem Amine, claimed the bronze medal. Bermuda managed to bag its first ever Olympic gold medal, when 33-year-old Flora Duffy managed to beat all other 53 competitors in the triathlon. 28-year-old Kirani James from Grenada managed to win a bronze, following his gold med- al success in London 2012 and his silver medal in Rio de Janei- ro 2016. Fiji's Rugby Sevens teams proved that the gold medal suc- cess that they had obtained in Rio de Janeiro was no fluke, as they managed to successfully retain it in Tokyo. The Pacific Islanders' women Rugby Sev- ens teams proved their worth as well, as they managed to win the bronze medal. Tokyo 2020 proved to be the best showing ever by the small states, as five countries (Baha- mas, Bermuda, Fiji, Grenada and San Marino) snatched nine medals, with four gold, one sil- ver and four bronze. According to Azzopardi, these results prove that if talent is nurtured in the correct man- ner through substantial finan- cial investment, scholarships and appropriate support by all stakeholders, such a positive trend may continue to persist and increase its rate of growth. lvella@mediatoday.com.mt Jesmond Caruana (top), and Dr Adele Muscat "Doing sport at a high level, whether professional or semi- professional, can be very stressful and anxiety-provoking. A high number of athletes experience high levels of anxiety in the months leading up to a top- level competition"