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Paul Grech profiles Malta's Giselle Camilleri
There is one fundamental difference between a person who
is successful and someone who fails to reach his potential:
determination.
This applies to atheltics just as much as it does to everday
life. Two years ago, Giselle Camilleri was on the verge of
quiting athletics. The disappointment of having to miss the
Small Nations Games held in San Marino was simply too much.
It was at that point that she dug out the determination that
is typical among winners. Instead of giving up, she decided
to give it another go and began training once again. And she
received her reward in June of this year when she managed
to clinch a bronze medal in the 10,000m of the Small Nations'
Games held in Malta.
"Let me go back two years," she explained. "In
2001 I had achieved the qualifying time for San Marino but
a couple of months before the event I my shin started hurting
me. I kept trying to keep it at the back of my mind. But with
only a month to go I couldn't continue and collapsed during
training. I ended up doing more damage because I couldn't
run for four months." This injury was the start of her
problems. "I started gaining weight and the more depressed
I felt, the more I ate. It was a viscous cycle and I couldn't
find the strength to start training. I used to feel embarassed
to go out running because I was so out of shape. Then I slowly
started doing some light training. Last August I thought that
there were only a few months to go to the Small Nations Games
and decided to focus exclusively on them."
"I very much believed that with God's help, everything
is possible. Spiritually I was very calm."
Indeed, her faith was a key element in her success at the
Small Nations' Games, along with the inspiring attitude of
her coach Ivan Rozhnov. "Ivan is the kind of person that
never allows you to lose confidence in yourself. On the contrary,
he is always willing to gives you advice and he believes in
patience and determination. Emotional stability is very important
for a person who wants to be succesful in sport. He calmed
me down. Three days before the race, I was so excited that
I couldn't sleep. Minutes before the race he helped me prepare
for it mentally, so much that I went in it full of confidence
and without any fear. I kept contact with Ivan during the
race and he helped keep me positive and confident."
 Regardless,
she wasn't among the favourites. Nor was she expecting any
success. "No, I wasn't expecting anything. There were
foru athletes whose personal best is much better than mine."
But that is where the determination kicked in. "You can
never say what is going to happen during a race. When you're
at the starting line, everyone is on the same level. You have
to put everything into it and that is what I was determined
to do." And that is what she did.
With Carol Galea, one of the favourites, pulling out early
during the race Malta's hopes for a medal looked over especialy
as Giselle started falling bhing. In long distance events,
however, the most important thing isn't how fast you can run
but whether you can keep a constant pace for the whole race.
Giselle's finishing time wasn't particularly impressive, but
it was enough for her to take bronze.
"When I saw the San Marino athlete slowing down…I
said that I'm going for a medal no matter what it takes. To
be honest, the last kilmetre went by very slowly. I was so
taken in by the atmosphere and the cheering that I couldn't
run any faster. I never imagined that there could be so much
support whilst running at home. The stands were full of people
and everyone was shouting their head off. After the race,
I couldn't stop thanking people."
It was an emotional moment for her, especially when she ran
towards her family and was welcomed with a shower of kisses
and hugs. For Giselle, this was particularly significant.
"Unfortunately, when I was growing up I didn't get along
with my parents. I didn't understand them and they didn't
understand me. Things got to a point that I had to leave home
when I was twenty three [in Malta, people normally leave home
only when they get married]. I know that deep down they were
proud that I ws so good in sport and that I was representing
my country but they never gave me any backing. Perhaps they
didn't agree with my style of life and I have to admit that
perhaps they were right."
In time, attitudes started to change. "They started
getting more interested and started coming to see me run.
For me the fact that they came and prepared a banner for the
Small Nations Games was very important. I don't think that
they expected me to win a medal. At that point I think that
they were very proud. A week after the Games we went to eat
out to celebrate my mother's birthday and they surprised me
with a cake. I almost burst out crying in the middle of the
restaurant. I didn't think that they would appreciate it so
much."
"I thank God because this medal has helped bring me
closer to my family."
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