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Maltese swimmer Mya Azzopardi establishes national record in Turkey

Maltese swimmer Mya Azzopardi established a brand spanking new national record in 200m freestyle, during none other than the International Turkcell competition. The Turkish Swimming Federation hosted the competition yesterday.

The 18-year-old swimmer registered a remarkable win of 2:06.48, improving her own mark of 2:06.76, which she set in Kazan, Russia, during the LEN European Junior Championships back in 2019. Mya also won three bronze medals at the 2019 Games of the Small States of Europe in Montenegro. Meanwhile, ten national team swimmers are currently attending a high altitude training camp in Erzurum, in Turkey.

“Currently, swimmers are undertaking what is called a ‘live high and train low’ model. These kind of training camps are highly scientific and the main purpose of such training programme is to enable swimmers to increase their aerobic capabcity,” explained Artem Goncharenko, the National Team Coach.

The athletes are currently based in accommodation at an altitude of 2500m, whilst training at an altitude of 1800m. They are undergoing training in a mix of daily land, gym and pool training sessions, in preparation for the 2023 Games of the Small States of Europe, in Malta.

The local swimmers undergoing the training are Luke Ellul Sullivan, Maya Galea, Emily Grech Carr, Andrea Mallia, Amy Micallef, Michela Portelli, Rudi Spiteri, Sean Wareing, Thomas Wareing and rising star Sasha Gatt.

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