“Presumably you’ll be going on holiday following all that?” Olympics.com asked Malta’s 18-year-old gymnastics phenom Philippa Busuttil about what she plans to do after competing at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto from 30 August.
“Well, no, I’ve got an exam,” Busuttil said with a smile specifically citing a physics test. “And then I’ll probably take two or three days, but then I’ll probably get back to the gym.”
Such is the emergence of Mediterranean island gymnasts on the international stage that Busuttil is eager to continue her trajectory, making impressive inroads into the world’s elite, to build on some noteworthy performances so far.
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Busuttil finished seventh, just 0.2 off the podium in the beam final in which her competitors included a world silver medallist on the apparatus and four-time Olympian, Ellie Black.
“It’s a huge honour to compete against someone like Ellie,” said Busuttil, who is making sure to soak up every lesson she can from her peers in competition, training halls and beyond.
“I’ve learned that the other girls are not too proud of themselves, so I don’t need to be scared. They are very welcoming, and they encourage one another and support one another, and I know that I will never be lonely in competitions. They also seem very calm and collected so I’m going to try and be more like them.”
Busuttil, who describes gymnastics as a “small sport” in her country, also enjoyed having team-mates to compete alongside in Glasgow, with Malta fielding a team at a major international competition for the first time.
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Busuttil, who competed alongside Lyana Curmi Inguanez and Sophie St John at the 7,000-capacity Glasgow International Arena. “The crowd, the atmosphere, the girls as well supporting each other, that was a really nice experience, very different to what I’m used to but I really enjoyed it.”
Another Mediterranean island gymnast from whom Busuttil can learn is Cypriot trailblazer Marios Georgiou. The 28-year-old has made a name for himself and his nation on the international stage in the men’s event since turning senior more than a decade ago.
Marios Georgiou a trailblazer for Mediterranean island gymnasts
Georgiou is a full-time gymnast, unlike Busuttil, who still juggles online school while she trains in Italy, who has collected numerous accolades across his career.
A two-time European champion, with one of those titles coming in the men’s all-around final in Rimini in 2024, a double gold-medal winner at the Commonwealth Games and a three-time Olympian, Georgiou has made a mark personally and for Cyprus in the gymnastics world.
Following the same current schedule as Busuttil with the Commonwealth Games, European Championships and Mediterranean Games in quick succession, Olympics.com spoke to him in Scotland about how he uses his experience to juggle the workload, especially when competing in the all-around competition that means performing on six pieces of apparatus.
“Honestly, I like to do the all-around,” he explained. “I said before I could do one specialist apparatus but I know that I can do all-around and I love all-around because you spend more time in the arena. I like to be in the arena and to compete and also I want to show the younger generation of my country that age is just a number, and you can do all-around until you decide to stop it.”
An Olympic medal is the only accolade missing from his resume, with Georgiou eyeing the Olympic Games LA28 to correct that anomaly. A sixth-place finish on horizontal bar at Paris 2024 is the closest he’s come, but managing his body has become key in the latter stages of his career.
“I decided to stop to relax a little bit,” he said of the two-year period after the Olympic Games. “But then when I tried to go back to gymnastics it was very difficult because every time when I go to get back, I have pain everywhere, so I stop again. Then I try to get back again and I stop again.
“So I try to do one or two apparatus to see how my body feels but in my mind I say ‘Ok, it’s about time to start to do the all-around because this is what I do, this is what I like, this is what I love’, and here we are.”
The Commonwealth Games and European Championships were the first two major internationals since the Limassol native competed in France’s capital, and he looks back to his best.
At the Commonwealths, Georgiou claimed two silvers – on parallel bars and horizontal bar – and finished just out of the all-around medals in fourth.
He left the continental championships with silver on horizontal bar and a sixth-place finish in the all-around.
But it was a history-making moment for Cyprus, who qualified a team for the world championships for the first time, that has surely secured Georgiou’s legacy.
Sokratis Pilakouris and Georgios Angonas – both of whom were also part of the squad that won a first ever Commonwealth team medal for Cyprus, with bronze in 2022 – and Neofytos Kyriakou and Kyriakos Markidis, were the quintet to secure a team spot for their nation in Rotterdam in October.
And so Mediterranean island gymnasts are making their mark on the world stage courtesy of trailblazers such as Georgiou and Busuttil, who are excited to showcase some of the region’s best performances at the Mediterranean Games, and beyond.
