Greenvale resident Max Busuttil was ecstatic to find himself back on a podium with a medal around his neck after years without a top three finish and challenges along the way.
Busuttil had been through several injuries and hours of isolated training through Covid to get his moment of winning silver in the 100 metre sprint at the recent under 17 National Championships on April 27.
Bustuttil was happy to gain a medal after years without a podium finish since he previously did it in 2019 for the 200 metre sprint and 2018 for the 100 metre sprint.
“I felt ecstatic, I love the fact that I finally secured a solo medal after two years of nothing but relay medals,” Bustuttil said.
“It really made me happy.
The 16-year-old claimed second with a time of 11.20 on the big stage at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre.
In the lead up to the event Bustuttil had been dealing with injuries for the past three years, including his knee and dysfunctions with different parts of his body, some of which are still present to this day.
“It’s been a very long journey getting back to second position,” he said.
“Although I still have a fair few injuries, it’s never gonna leave me and I feel like as much as I may work on it, I may never fully remove it.
Like many, Bustuttil had also been through difficult periods through Covid having to train on his own at times.
“This is not so much an injury but when COVID hit I was in a really bad position because our training was stopped for some time, and I kind of had to do it by myself and follow a program Darren set for me,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think it works too well without my coach being there because I feel like he helped me a lot with pushing me through the session and getting the most out of it.
Bustuttil has been pleased to have Darren Clark as his coach since getting him in 2019.
“Darren’s been all over the place with me during the last couple of years I’ve been with him,” he said.
“He’s been really good with diagnosing problems, going through starts, telling me where I can improve or where I should stay the same.”
Bustuttil goal is to make it to the Olympics.
“My dream is to one day make the Olympics,” he said.
“I sort of had a goal for the 2024 Olympics but I don’t think that’s going to happen but I heard the 2026 Commonwealth games is going to be in Country Victoria and that’s going to be my aim for now.
“At the moment, I’m waiting to see if I have made the Australian team for June.”
