‘Love is stronger than sorrow’

Launch of athletes grant on first anniversary of death of volleyball stalwart Jonathan Chetcuti On the first anniversary of the death of volleyball stalwart Jonathan Chetcuti at 41, his loved ones have launched a grant for elite athletes that aims to pass on his passion for sports – and life in general. Dubbed the Jonathan Chetcuti Program, the sponsorship project is the brainchild of his wife Elaine Bonello and business partner and close buddy Jonathan Dalli, who immediately knew, in that time of immense pain, that they wanted to carry on the popular man’s legacy. Overwhelmed by emotions at the loss of someone so pivotal in both their lives, they took a backseat to settle into their new reality until a childhood friend of Chetcuti’s, Gege Gatt, stepped in to organise their thoughts. Now, a “tumultuous” year after Chetcuti lost his fight against an aggressive form of lymphoma just six months after he was diagnosed, the ball is rolling and a promising young sailor, selected by the Maltese Olympic Committee, has been handed the sports lover’s baton. A year ago, on one of the toughest days for those involved in the initiative, his distraught wife had said: “This cannot stop here.