Katryna Esposito wins the second IZIBET Elite Athlete Award for 2024

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National Lottery plc and the Malta Sports Journalists Association (MSJA) are pleased to announce that Katryna Esposito won the second IZIBET Elite Athlete Award for 2024, covering the months of March and April.

Katryna Esposito, aged 23, was on top of the podium at the Commonwealth Judo Championships hosted in Malta. The gold medal won by Katryna Esposito in the Women's 48 kg Category was the first one ever won in judo for Malta in such a competition.

During this event, Esposito was preparing for the coming Olympics’ qualifying events and working to improve her performance throughout this year. Katryna Esposito’s success came after a five-month stoppage from training as she underwent a surgery in September, following her injury during the Games for Small States of Europe (GSSE 2023).

Franco de Gabriele, Chief Commercial Officer of IZI Group commented on the extraordinary results obtained by Katryna Esposito. “It is encouraging to witness such remarkable results at the international level. Behind these results are endless hours of hard work and sacrifice. These results augur well for future results. Malta has always nurtured talented Judo athletes and what Katryna is achieving is nothing short of extraordinary. We are happy to be supporting athletes such as Katryna that are committed and aspire to reach excellence in their sports discipline”.

Sandro Micallef, President of the Malta Sports Journalists Association said: “I’m very satisfied that this award went to Katryna Esposito. Katryna had a very difficult year as after the Games for Small States of Europe, due to a knee injury, had to undergo an ACL surgery. An interesting fact to mention is that the surgery was done by her father who happens to be a surgeon specialised in such operations. Katryna’s recovery was very impressive, as much as she started training much earlier than expected. Esposito’s physical recovery can be considered inspirational to other athletes who face such difficult circumstances.”

The IZIBET Elite Athlete Award recognises exceptional performances by local athletes and is awarded every two months.

A selection board composed of sports journalists and sports observers is responsible for evaluating the athlete's achievements during the designated review periods, ensuring a fair and thorough assessment process.

In the meantime, the official website of the Malta Sports Journalists Association https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/ provides the rules and regulations governing the award.

Photo caption: (From left) Lorraine Cunningham, General Secretary of the Malta Sports Journalists Association, James Morgan, Brand Manager of IZI Group plc, Katryna Esposito and Stephen Azzopardi, Administrator of the Malta Sports Journalists Association.

Katryna Esposito tirbaħ it-tieni IZIBET Elite Athlete Award għas-sena 2024

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National Lottery plc u l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports, bi pjaċir iħabbru li Katryna Esposito rebħet it-tieni unur tal-IZIBET Elite Athlete Award li jkopri x-xhur ta’ Marzu u April 2024.

Katryna Esposito li għandha 23 sena, telgħet fuq il-quċċata tal-podju fil-kategorija tan-nisa tat-48 kilogramma, fil-Kampjonati tal-Commonwealth tal-Judo li saru f’Malta. Din il-midalja tad-deheb mirbuħa minn Esposito kienet l-ewwel waħda għal Malta fil-judo f'dawn il-kampjonati.

F’dan l-avveniment Esposito kienet qed tkompli tipprepara ruħha għall-avvenimenti ta’ kwalifikazzjoni tal-Olimpjadi li ġejjin u ttejjeb il-preparazzjoni tagħha għall-bqija ta’ din is-sena. Dan is-suċċess ta’ Katryna Esposito wasal wara li hi kellha tieqaf mit-taħriġ għal ħames xhur, peress li kienet ġiet operata f’Settembru, wara li weġġgħet waqt il-Logħob tal-Pajjiżi ż-Żgħar tal-Ewropa (GSSE 2023).

Franco de Gabriele, Chief Commercial Officer ta' IZI Group ikkumenta fuq ir-riżultati straordinarji miksuba minn minn Katryna Esposito. “Huwa nkorraġġjanti li tara riżultati hekk pożittivi fuq livell internazzjonali. Konxji mill-fatt li wara dawn ir-riżultati hemm sigħat twal ta' ħidma kbira u sagrifiċċju. Dawn ir-riżultati jawguraw tajjeb għall-futur. Malta dejjem ipproduċiet atleti tajbin fil-Judo u dak li kisbet Katryna huwa xhieda ta' dan. Aħna ferm kuntenti li qed nagħtu s-sapport tagħna lill-atleti bħal Katryna li jagħmlu ħilithom kollha u jħarsu 'l quddiem sabiex jilħqu l-ogħla livell fid-dixxiplini sportivi rispettivi tagħhom”.

Min-naħa tiegħu, Sandro Micallef, President tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports sostna, “Inħossni verament sodisfatt li dan l-unur intrebaħ minn Katryna Espositio. Katryna kellha sena diffiċli ħafna hekk kif wara l-Logħob tal-Pajjiżi ż-Żgħar tal-Ewropa, kellha tagħmel intervent maġġuri f'irkopptejha wara li weġġgħet u spiċċat għamlet l-ACL. Interessanti l-fatt li l-intervent kirurġiku sar minn missierha li huwa kirurgu li jispeċjalizza f'dawn it-tip ta' operazzjonijiet. Ir-rijabilitazzjoni ta' Katryna kienet waħda impressjonanti tant li bdiet tittrenja ferm qabel ma kien mistenni. L-irkupru fiżiku ta' Esposito minn wara dan l-intervent għandu jservi ta' kuraġġ u ta' ispirazzjoni għall-atleti kollha li jgħaddu minn dawn il-mumenti diffiċli.”

Il-għan tal-IZIBET Elite Athlete Award huwa li jirrikonoxxi s-suċċessi miksuba mill-atleti lokali kull xahrejn.

Il-bord tal-għażla huwa magħmul minn ġurnalisti u osservaturi sportivi li se jkunu qed jevalwaw bir-reqqa il-kisbiet tal-atleti matul ix-xhur u jassiguraw li jkun hemm il-korretezza matul il-proċess kollu tal-għażla.

Ir-regolamenti tal-IZIBET Elite Athlete Award jistgħu jinkisbu minn fuq il-website tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/

Ritratt: (Mix-xellug) Lorraine Cunningham, Segretarju Ġenerali tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports, James Morgan, Brand Manager ta' IZI Group plc, Katryna Esposito u Stephen Azzopardi, Amministratur tal-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports.

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Video presentation including an interview with Katryna Esposito is available through this link:
https://we.tl/t-ZgUrAOLq3n

Photos from this link: https://we.tl/t-DhwPi7L4HW