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The 2025 Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) got underway in Andorra with Team Malta making an impressive start, securing a series of medals across multiple disciplines. Among the standout moments was Jessica Vella’s historic achievement, claiming Malta’s first-ever gold medal in karate. Equally remarkable was the performance of Malta’s youngest athletes – the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team – who captured the country’s first gold medal in the team event, a first in the history of the sport in the history of the Games. Karate With Karate making its debut at the Games of the Small States of Europe, all eyes were on this discipline. In the Kata event, Jessica Vella brought home Malta’s first medal after having remained unbeaten and topping up Group B. The Kata competition saw Vella drawn in Group B, competing against Liechtenstein athlete Aileen Sprenger achieving 37.8 points against Sprenger’s 33.8 points. Vella showed consistency in her second match, taking the win over Monaco’s Cecille Orrigo 37.3-32.7. Securing a place in the semi-finals Andorra’s Maria Ubiergo, Vella once again took the win with a score of 38.4-36.8. 
Matthias Brancaleone In the gold medal final, Vella was up against Mila Mrakovic, of Montenegro, edging out Mrakovic to a score of 39.1-37. The second medal in the sport came from Ibrahim Halil Koska who had to settle for bronze in the +84kg category. Koska got off to a flyin start with a strong victory against Thimothy Cesa, of Monaco 8-0 . He then drew with Montenegro’s Nemanja Jovocic 0-0. In the semi-final, Koska was involved in a tight duel with San Marino’s Emanuel Magnelli losing the bout 1-0 and settling for bronze. 
Matthew Mirabelli / Times of Malta Cycling Malta’s national cycling team delivered a determined effort in Tuesday’s individual time trials at the 2025 GSSE, held on the demanding 17km mountainous course of Ordino El Serrat. Andrea Mifsud was Malta’s top performer in the men’s event, placing fifth with a time of 20:40.18, just over a minute behind Cyprus’ Andreas Miltiadis, who took gold. Bernard Galea followed in ninth, with Daniel Bonello, Aiden Buttigieg, Jacob Schembri, and John Camilleri finishing 12th, 15th, 17th, and 19th respectively. In the women’s race, Deborah Schembri also placed fifth, clocking 22:41.64 — two minutes behind Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber, who secured gold. Jessica Pratt placed 10th, Diana Muscat 14th, and Emma Pratt 15th. Gymnastics On the opening day of competition, Malta’s artistic gymnasts — Sophie St John, Philippa Busuttil, Janet Galea, Julia Galea, and Lyana Curmi Inguanez — made history by winning gold in the team event, marking the country’s first-ever team victory in gymnastics at the Games. 
Sophie St John added to the celebrations with a silver medal in the all-around event, while Philippa Busuttil completed the podium with a bronze. Despite being a team made up of both emerging and seasoned athletes, Team Malta delivered an impressive performance, finishing with a commanding score of 138.250 — well ahead of Iceland (136.400) and Luxembourg (135.050). While each apparatus contributed to the overall result, it was the Balance Beam and Floor routines that proved decisive, giving Team Malta a lead that could not be overtaken. 
Sophie St John – Silver (46.40 points) Philippa Busuttil – Bronze (45.70 points) Athletics Malta’s fourth gold medal at the Games came in athletics, with Gina McNamara taking first place in the Women’s 800m. McNamara had secured an impressive trio of gold medals during the 2023 edition of the Games in Malta — in the 800m, 1,500m, and 5,000m — and will now be aiming to defend her remaining titles as the competition in Andorra continues. Janet Richard joined McNamara on the podium in the same event, earning a bronze medal for her third-place finish. 
Jared Micallef clinched a silver medal in the Men’s 800m, narrowly missing out on gold by less than half a second, while Jemima Louise Farley claimed silver in the Women’s 10,000m. Another silver followed in the Mixed 4x400m relay, with Team Malta — composed of Isaac Bonnici, Martha Spiteri, Jared Micallef, and Janet Richard — finishing just three-quarters of a second behind eventual winners Cyprus. Malta’s sprinters also made it to the podium: Beppe Grillo took bronze in the Men’s 100m, and Thea Parnis secured third place in the Women’s 100m. Photo Credit: Matthew Mirabelli / Matthias Brancaleone Swimming Undoubtedly Sasha Gatt was the protagonist for Maltese swimming on Day one of the Games, when she won a gold medal after producing a composed performance to win the 800m final in eight minutes 49.74 seconds. The Maltese swimmer was engaged in a thrilling battle with Monaco’s Lisa Pou, but in the end, she came out on top. 
Nirvana Micallef brought home the silver medal in the 200 metres butterfly final, after having been engaged in a tense battle for the gold medal with Luxembourg’s Emma Barthel with the latter just sneaking out victory with a time of 2:23.45. Micallef was second overall in a fine 2:23.94 seconds and finished almost a second ahead of third-placed Agathi Manoli, of Cyprus, who clocked 2:24.92. Nathan Cachia just missed out on a place on the podium when placing fourth in the 200 metres butterfly final. Cachia completed the four-lap race in a time of 2:05.49 to finish behind gold medal winner Florian Frippiat, of Luxembourg, who won the race in 2:03.52, ahead of Holma Gretarrson, of Iceland, who clocked 2:03.77. Sean Wareing placed seventh in the 200m back when clocking 2:13.45. On the other hand Dylan Cachia was sixth in the men’s 800 metres in 8.48.71 ahead of team-mate Nathan cachia (8.48.84). In the final race of the day, Malta placed seventh in the 4x100m relay when clocking 3:33.33. Table Tennis Team Malta maintained their medal success in table tennis at the GSSE when securing a gold medal in the women’s doubles while their male counterparts had to settle with a bronze. Maria-Carmelia Iacob and Renata Strbikova produced a stellar performance in the women’s event as they sailed into the semi-finals with a perfect record as they beat Cyprus 3-1 and Iceland 3-0. In the semi-finals, Iacob and Strbikova upset gold medal favourites Luxembourg to set up a final showdown with Cyprus. The Maltese pair here cruised to a 3-0 to secure the gold medal. In the men’s tournament, Dmitri Prokopcov and Felix Wetzel set their way to the final match after strolling to top spot in their group with a 3-1 win over Cyprus and identical 3-0 wins over Andorra and Monaco. But in the semi-finals, Wetzel and Prokopcov lost the match 3-2, after having enjoyed a lead and eventually settling for bronze. Tennis There was also promising progress in tennis, where Elaine Genovese secured a straight-sets victory 6-1, 6-3 over Iceland’s Anna Sofia Gronholm to move into the women’s singles quarter-finals. Unfortunately it was a disappointing result for Matthew Asciak and Alex Degabriele, who were beaten 6-2, 6-4 by a strong Monaco in their opening match. Basketball 3×3 It was mixed fortunes for Malta, when men’s team suffered four consecutive defeats, losing twice to both Andorra (19-18, 20-18) and Cyprus (21-15, 21-16). Nonetheless the team put up a good fight. A strong performance by the women’s team resulted in three wins from four games. Malta began with a dominant win against Cyprus (21-11), followed by another victory against Andorra (15-11). A defeat (16-10) against Luxembourg did not dampen their spirit but strengthened their resolve resulting in a win against Monaco (18-14), thus keeping their medal hopes alive. Day 1 Gold Medals
- Athletics – Women’s 800m: MCNAMARA Gina
- Gymnastics Artistic – Women’s Team: Malta Women
- Karate – Women’s Kata: VELLA Jessica
- Swimming – Women’s 800m Freestyle: GATT Sasha
- Table Tennis – Women’s Doubles: Malta Women’s Doubles
Silver Medals
- Athletics – 4 x 400m Relay Mixed: Malta 4 x 400m Relay Mixed
- Athletics – Men’s 800m: MICALLEF Jared
- Athletics – Women’s 10,000m: FARLEY Jemima Louise
- Gymnastics Artistic – Women’s All-Around: ST JOHN Sophie
- Swimming – Women’s 200m Butterfly: MICALLEF Nirvana
Bronze Medals
- Athletics – Men’s 100m: GRILLO Beppe
- Athletics – Women’s 100m: PARNIS Thea
- Athletics – Women’s 800m: RICHARD Janet
- Gymnastics Artistic – Women’s All-Around: BUSUTTIL Philippa
- Karate – Men’s Kumite +84kg: KOSKA Halil Ibrahim
- Table Tennis – Men’s Doubles: Malta Men’s Doubles
