Malta Rowing Federation

[EN]

A strong and highly talented Maltese contingent, coming from Siġġiewi Rowing Club (Daniela Borg, Justin John Camilleri, Leanne Xuereb Ungaro and Matthew Xuereb), University of Malta Rowing Club (Edward Grech) and Birgu Regatta Club (Clyde Cutajar) competed at BRIC 2025, held in the first weekend of December 2025 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham returning home with seven medals, including five Gold, and three newly established World Records.

Siġġiewi’s PR2 Para rower Daniela Cachia obtained Gold in the PR2 Women’s 2000m and 1 minute sprint race whilst Siġġiewi Coach and athlete Leanne Xuereb Ungaro won Bronze in the Women’s Masters 1 min Super Sprint and achieved other top results in the 30–39 Masters Women category, placing 6th in the 2,000 metres with a time of 7:19.8, and 7th in the 500 metres in 1:38.2. Birgu Regatta rower Clyde Cutajar won a prestigious Bronze in the Men’s 30–39 Open 500m Sprint race with a finishing time of 1:20.5 and finished 10^th in the Men’s Master Open 1min Super Sprint. University Rowing Club rower Edward Grech and Siġġiewi rower Matthew Xuereb also obtained very respectable results in all the races they took part in.

However, the star of the show was Siġġiewi Para rower Justin John Camilleri, a single-arm below-the-elbow amputee, produced an outstanding performance in the IAR3 Para Rowing Men’s Open category where he not only won all three races, but also managed to secure three new World Records in his age category. Justin finished the prestigious 2,000 metres race with an impressive finish time of 7:33.6 and managed to row 1,075 metres in the 4-minute event, and 330 metres in the 1-minute sprint. In doing so, he continues to underline his status among the world’s leading Para indoor rowers.

Malta Paralympic Committee, the national governing body for Para Sport in Malta, highlighted that these outstanding results represent a major milestone in the continued development of Para Rowing in Malta. “The excellent results achieved in Para Rowing are a clear testament to the athletes’ unwavering commitment, the extensive hours of structured training, and the consistently high standard of professional coaching by Para Rowing coaches Mark Schembri and Leanne Xuereb Ungaro and support provided by their club.” Para Rowing in Malta is being co-developed by the Malta Paralympic Committee and Siġġiewi Rowing Club and has experienced significant growth since 2022. Over this period, the number of active Para indoor rowing athletes has risen to more than 15, more than tripling participation levels recorded in 2022. Many of these athletes recently competed at the Malta National Indoor Rowing Championships, held in November 2025.

Malta Rowing Federation, the national governing body for the sport of rowing in Malta, emphasised the significance of the results achieved at the 2025 British Championships. “Malta is at an important juncture in its rowing history, marked by the establishment of the Malta Rowing Federation as a distinct and independent entity from the traditional regatta association. These outstanding performances in the British Championships  bode well for the future of both Olympic and Paralympic rowing in Malta, and we are confident that the Federation and its two member clubs, the University of Malta Rowing Club and Siġġiewi Rowing Club, will experience substantial growth in the coming years.”

 Malta’s participation at the British Rowing Indoor Championships 2025 was made possible through the financial support by SportMalta through the SportMalta International Participation Scheme 2025.

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Riżulatati, Rekords u Suċċessi Spettakolari fil-British Rowing Indoor Championships 2025

Prestazzjonijiet mill-aqwa, medalji u tliet Rekords Dinjija ġodda mmarkaw il-parteċipazzjoni ta’ Malta fil-British Rowing Indoor Championships 2025.

Kontinġent Malti b’saħħtu u mimli talent, magħmul minn atleti minn Siġġiewi Rowing Club (Daniela Borg, Justin John Camilleri, Leanne Xuereb Ungaro u Matthew Xuereb), University of Malta Rowing Club (Edward Grech) u Birgu Regatta Club (Clyde Cutajar), ħa sehem fil-kompetizzjoni li saret fiċ-Ċentru Nazzjonali tal-Wirjiet (NEC) f’Birmingham fl-ewwel tmiem il-ġimgħa ta’ Diċembru, u rritorna Malta b’seba’ midalji, inkluż ħames tad-deheb, kif ukoll tliet Rekords Dinjija ġodda.

Daniela Cachia, PR2 Para rower ta’ Siġġiewi, kisbet deheb fil-PR2 Women’s 2000m u fit-tiġrija sprint ta’ minuta. Leanne Xuereb Ungaro, kowċ u atleta ta’ Siġġiewi, rebħet il-Bronż fil-Women’s Masters 1-Minute Super Sprint u kisbet riżultati tajbin fil-kategorija Masters Nisa 30–39 sena, inkluż is-6 post fit-tiġrija ta’ 2,000 metru u s-7 post fit-tiġrija ta’ 500 metru.

Clyde Cutajar ta’ Birgu Regatta Club rebaħ midalja prestiġjuża tal-Bronż fit-tiġrija Men’s 30–39 Open 500m Sprint u spiċċa fl-10 post fil-Men’s Masters Open 1-Minute Super Sprint. Edward Grech (University of Malta Rowing Club) u Matthew Xuereb (Siġġiewi) ukoll kisbu riżultati tajbin fit-tiġrijiet kollha tagħhom.

Spikkaw bil-kbir ir-riżultati ta` Justin John Camilleri, Para rower ta’ Siġġiewi b’amputazzjoni ta’ driegħ wieħed. Huwa rebaħ it-tliet tiġrijiet kollha fil-kategorija IAR3 Para Rowing Men’s Open, u stabbilixxa wkoll tliet Rekords Dinjija ġodda fil-kategorija tiegħu. Justin temm it-tiġrija prestiġjuża ta’ 2,000 metru b’ħin ta’ 7:33.6, qadef 1,075 metru fl-avveniment ta’ erba’ minuti, u 330 metru fit-tiġrija sprint ta’ minuta. B’hekk hu kompla juri li huwa fost l-aqwa Para rowers indoor fid-dinja.

Il-Kumitat Paralimpiku Malti enfasizza li dawn ir-riżultati jirrappreżentaw pass importanti fl-iżvilupp tal-Para Rowing f’Malta. “Ir-riżultati huma xhieda tal-impenn tal-atleti, tas-sigħat ta’ taħriġ intens, u tal-livell għoli tal-kowċing minn Mark Schembri u Leanne Xuereb Ungaro, kif ukoll tas-sapport tal-klub tagħhom.” Il-Para Rowing qed jiġi żviluppat b’mod konġunt mill-Kumitat Paralimpiku Malti u s-Siġġiewi Rowing Club, u n-numru ta’ atleti attivi żdied għal aktar minn 15, tliet darbiet dak ta’ fl-2022.

Malta Rowing Federation qalet li dawn ir-riżultati huma sinjal pożittiv li jawgura tajjeb għall-futur tal-qdif f’Malta, kemm Olimpiku kif ukoll Paralimpiku, specjalemt fid-dawl tat-twaqqif tal-Federazzjoni bħala entità indipendenti mill-assoċjazzjoni tradizzjonali tar-regatta, fatt li qed iwassal għal tkabbir sostanzjali għall-klabbs membri tagħha: University of Malta Rowing Club u Siġġiewi Rowing Club.

Il-parteċipazzjoni ta’ Malta fil-BRIC 2025 kienet possibbli bis-sapport finanzjarju ta’ SportMalta permezz tal-Iskema ta’ Parteċipazzjoni Internazzjonali 2025.