Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1500833
15 WORLD maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 7 JUNE 2023 highs, the lows and the future (three gold and one silver), Claire Azzopardi winning three medals (all gold), Georgi Kate Bohl (two gold, one silver and one bronze) and Janet Richard winning four medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze). The squash men and women teams also recorded notable wins, taking home five gold medals, four silver and one bronze. Swimmers registered the sec- ond highest medal tally, win- ning four gold medals, six sil- ver medals and seven bronze medals. The low point While athletes delivered in their respective fields, it was government who failed to de- liver on its promise for new sports facilities for the GSSE. The €14 million Cottonera Sports Complex indoor pool, the €16 million pool in Victo- ria, Gozo, the €3 million tennis complex in Pembroke and the €9 million indoor squash and weightlifting complex in Mar- sa were all not completed on time. The projects' incompletion forced SportMalta to enter into agreements with alterna- tive, some outdated, venues to host the games. To put this into perspective, the swim- ming events were held at the National Swimming Pool at the Tal-Qroqq Sports Complex which was built for the 1993 GSSE. Instead of the promised six new tennis courts at one ven- ue and the eight new squash courts at another venue, ar- rangements had to be made with the Marsa Sports Club where the tennis and squash competitions were held. To top it all, some of these incomplete projects have al- so exceeded their budgets by millions - the Victoria pool is already €7 million over budget and the tennis complex in Pembroke is expected to cost €1.6 million more. The future Despite the resounding suc- cess, the life of an athlete al- lows you little down time, as the next competition always draws near. Team Malta will now be head- ing for the much tougher 2023 European Games which will be held in Kraków and Małopols- ka, Poland later this month. Next year, the ultimate com- petition for any athlete – the Olympics – will be held in Par- is, France, and securing a spot in the world's elite competition is no easy feat. The question remains – will government fund sports just because it is hosting an inter- national event, or will it sus- tain its backing for Malta's elite athletes for the long-term?