Malta’s Artistic Swimming National Team is preparing to take on some of Europe’s leading athletes at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris.
Four swimmers will fly the Maltese flag across three events during the artistic swimming programme, which runs from 31 July to 5 August at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in the Greater Paris area. The full European Aquatics Championships will continue until 16 August and will feature five aquatic disciplines.
Zea Montfort will represent Malta in the Women’s Solo competition, while Jude Bonnici Peresso will compete in the Men’s Solo.
Ana Culic and Thea Grima Buttigieg will team up for the Women’s Duet, continuing a partnership that has already represented Malta at several major international competitions.
The delegation will be led by Head Coach Michelle Hubner.
A Significant Step for Malta
According to the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta, this will be only the second time that Malta has competed at the Senior European Artistic Swimming Championships.
The appearance is therefore an important milestone for the national programme and reflects the progress artistic swimming has made locally in recent years.
Malta’s athletes have been building valuable international experience. Montfort competed at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, alongside Culic and Grima Buttigieg, while the duet also secured two gold medals at the 2025 Games of the Small States of Europe.
Montfort also reached the Women’s Solo Free final at the 2025 European Championships in Athens, showing the growing ability of Maltese artistic swimmers to compete at a high international level.
Competing on a Major European Stage
The Paris championships will bring together many of the continent’s top aquatic athletes.
Artistic swimming and diving will open the programme on 31 July, with the artistic swimming events concluding on 5 August. The wider championships will also include swimming, open-water swimming and high diving.
For Malta, the event offers another opportunity to gain experience, demonstrate the progress being made within the national setup and inspire more young athletes to take up the sport.
Best wishes go to Zea, Jude, Ana, Thea and Coach Michelle Hubner as they represent Malta in Paris.
Credit: Aquatic Sports Association of Malta
