Marsa track to host major international athletics meet

Olympic athletes, national champions and emerging stars from 34 countries are set to compete in the EAP Malta International 2025 on Saturday, June 14 at the Matthew Micallef St John Stadium in Marsa.

The meet, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour - Challenger series, is organised by Pembroke Athleta Athletics & Triathlon Club. Over 150 foreign athletes and officials are expected to attend. Organisers said this year’s sixth edition is on track to achieve its highest-ever World Athletics ranking.

Ukrainian sprinter Tatiana Melnyk, a three-time Olympian and multiple Balkan and World University Games gold medallist, will be among the standout competitors. Malta’s Beppe Grillo, the country’s top sprinter and recent gold medallist at the Small Nations Games in Andorra, will also compete.

Shi Yuhao, a long jumper from China ranked 32nd in the world and a Diamond League and Asian Games medallist, was due to attend but had his visa request refused. Other notable athletes include Tomas Nemejc from Czechia, a European 200m finalist; Keenan Blake from the Netherlands, the defending 400m champion and record holder; and Ireland’s Molly Scott, a former world medallist returning to defend her 100m title.

Further names include Carys McAuley from Scotland, Dániel Eszes from Hungary, Tetiana Keysen and Viktoria Baranivska from Ukraine, and veteran Nigerian triple jumper Oke Tosin, an Olympic finalist and multiple African champion.

Organisers said sprint and hurdle events are expected to be among the most competitive. Event director Norman Saliba said the lineup is the strongest the event has seen and described it as a key opportunity for Maltese athletes to test themselves against world-class competition on home soil.