Elite Maltese athlete Mireya Cassar has pushed her throwing boundaries once again with a stunning new record in the hammer throw at 47.46m, during a meeting at the Hassloch Athletics stadium in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With this through, she eclipsed the previous national benchmark by 61cm, held by experienced thrower Antonella Chouhal, a testament to her improvement in recent months.
These results, while impressive, come to no surprise, given that 18-year-old Cassar is currently one of a just a few Maltese athletes who has sought to pursue the sport in a professional manner. Indeed, season 2021-2022 looks to become one of the most exciting seasons in Mireya’s sporting career, after taking the bold decision to start a professional athlete’s life in Mannheim, Germany under the tutelage of world renown throwing coach, Khalid Alqawati.
Mireya Cassar explained that back in 2018 she was invited for a 10-day training camp in Mannheim, Germany to train with Coach Khalid. “This experience left a truly positive impression on me, and it was at this time that I had decided that if the opportunity arose again, one day I would return for a longer stay.” Cassar has already been four months in Germany and has set her sights at an extended stay.
Earlier this year, aware of her development in the couple of years which passed, Khalid again invited Mireya to go to Mannheim and after the first initial meetings, he accepted to take Mireya under his wings on a full-time basis after his return from the Tokyo Olympics. Training hard day-by-day with such an experienced coach and with other talented athletes is reaping significant benefits.
Cassar is now fully focused on improving her throws, and she will be flying the Maltese flag in less than a month’s time at the European Throwing Cup, in Leira, Portugal, and later in June, in the European Championships for Small States of Europe that will be held in Malta. Cassar has already gained international exposure, with a positive performance last year in Split, Croatia, where she went beyond the 45metre threshold, setting an Under 23 record, an impressive feat for an 18-year-old.
Despite her young age, Cassar has in recent years also won three national championships in the shotput and another one in the discus and javelin, cementing her force among the Maltese athletics elite.
