For every triathlete who venture into long-distance triathlon, there is one race above all the others where one aspires to arrive and which will be forever marked as the pinnacle in one’s sporting career : the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii every year in October on the standard Ironman distance of 3.8KM swim, 180KM cycle and 42.2KM run. For Maltese triathletes, this holy grail of long-distance triathlon was always elusive, until Dermot Galea managed to qualify in 2013 and then followed by David Galea who got his ticket for Kona in 2016.

2018 was again a year where the Maltese flag hung proudly at the World Championships, this year carried by the Birkirkara St. Joseph SC’s athlete, Rudolph Agius. Agius entered the triathlon community almost by mistake a decade ago, when he started attending local triathlon races to support members of his family and take photographs of the local athletes. Soon enough he got the triathlon addiction and he started to compete locally where he instantly set himself as one of Maltese’s topmost triathletes on all the distances. However, his predilection for endurance races was immediately clear as he worked his way to become the Malta National Long-Distance Triathlon Champion in both 2016 and 2017.

Agius also started to venture into international events as well as he took part in four Ironman 70.3 races (which are raced on half the distances) and also seven full Iron-distance races. Last year, in 2017, he qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships which were held in Australia. This success continued to fuel his passion and determination and this year he focused on the Ironman distance and his excellent performance in the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt finally earned him the coveted ticket for Kona.

The island of Hawaii is notorious for its harsh meteorological conditions and this year was no exception. This year, very strong winds and heavy rains hit the island in the week before the race, but Agius was determined to outplay the odds and finish the race to become just the third Maltese to conquer Kona. Agius got out of the swim after 1 hour, 3 minutes and 50 seconds, while he covered the cycling segment of 180KM in a time of 5 hours, 6 minutes and 24 seconds. In the marathon run, Agius had to endure fatigue and he finished it in a time of 4 hours, 26 minutes and 21 seconds to conclude the race in a total time of 10 hours, 45 minutes and 58 seconds.

Reached immediately after the race, Agius stated that ‘I feel I had a good race and I am very happy with my result. I was very satisfied with the swim and also with the bike segment where I felt strong throughout. The weather conditions were very challenging and this had its toil on me especially in the run on a hilly route and with very humidity of more than 75%. I had to slow down my pace as otherwise I might have compromised finishing the race, especially in the last 10KM where I had to endure loads of cramps and muscle fatigue. My plan of finishing the marathon in three and a half hours had to change and I settled for a slower paces which finally saw me finishing this dream of a race. I am extremely happy to have had this chance as it was the best racing experience ever to be part of Kona and its electrifying atmosphere and to be amongst the top triathletes in the world.

​This experience was made possible for me with the support of my family and friends and my sponsors Attard Bros, Pfanner Malta, Big Mat Malta, Garmin Malta and The Cyclist. I am also extremely grateful to the support by SportMalta, my triathlon club Birkirkara St. Joseph and the Malta Triathlon Federation’.                                                                                                                              

Following weeks of coordination and a meeting held yesterday, Triathlon Malta, with the support of the MYTA - Malta Youth Triathlon Academy is pleased to announce that Super League Triathlon have entrusted us with the race management of the Aquathlon to be held on Saturday in conjunction with the Super League races. 

There will 3 SWIM-RUN races, as follows :

KIDS up to 10 years
100m swim & 500m run

YOUTHS from 11 to 15 years
300m swim & 1.4KM run

ADULTS from 16 years on
300m swim & 3KM run

Races will be held between 11:00am and 12:30am on Saturday, at Birgu.

Registration is online on https://endurancecui.active.com/new/events/56708251/select-race?fbclid=IwAR1na6h1yEddZCcoP9BgvC8wDgc_QaNj6tl44MzDzLCAeRuR2xrnz5suaIQ&rf=d9b98fae593c43749f7681dd375d4e0d&_p=3439277260902691 and costs 10Euro plus 1.60Euro of processing fee. 
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Shaun Galea clinched the National Title for the first time while Hannah Pace defended last year’s title in spectacular fashion under torrential rain on the Coast Road in what proved to be a highly exciting race at the Garmin National Malta Triathlon Championship – the 33rd edition of these championships organised by the Malta Triathlon Federation.
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The weather forecast got it all right as all the elements came together in full force to render the already difficult race into a truly mental and physical challenge. 

​Championship Race Report
In the Male race, a new champion was going to be crowned since none of the previous title-holders were present on the starting list. From the very few metres of the swim, it was Pembroke Atleta & Triathlon's Shaun Galea and Mosta Tri Team's Bernard Sant who took the lead and covered the 1500m sea-swim in exactly 23 minutes. However, during the cycling segment on wet roads and under pelting rain, it was Mosta Tri Team’s Wayne Spiteri who logged the fastest bike section by covering the 40KM course in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 35 seconds. In the final 10KM run, Jesrit Angel Camilleri of Birkirkara St. Joseph established the best time in 38 minutes 9 seconds. Spiteri kept putting pressure on the leader, but ultimately it was Shaun Galea who won the title in a total time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 32 seconds. Spiteri finished in second place just 8 seconds after Galea while Bernard Sant took home the third place.

In the Female race, Pembroke Atleta and Triathlon’s Hannah Pace build a strong buffer behind her in the swimming section, where she was out of the water in second place overall. Her strong racing saw here registering the best female cycling segment where she covered the 40KM stretch in 1 hour 6 minutes and 46 seconds. Behind her, the duo made up of Mellieha A.C.’s Margaret Seguna and Agones SFC’s Danica Bonello Spiteri kept the same pace and exchanged second place on various occasions. However, Seguna was stronger on the run and was second overall as she build up a four minute advantage on Bonello Spiteri who was third on the podium. Pace went undisturbed to conquer her third consecutive National title in a time of just under 2 hours 16 minutes.

In the Age Groups, Darrel Schembri & Anjelika Ruggier were first in the 20-24 categories, Lara Buttigieg and Jesrit Angel Camilleri took the 25-29 section, Michael Bongailas and Juliya Azzopardi Mazur claimed the 30-34 group while the 40-44 category was topped by Karen Amato and Matthew Mirabelli. Josef Bonavia, Kevin Muscat, Joseph Cremona, Victor Calvagna and the Australian Ian King won the Males age categories between 35 and 75 years of age.
 
Sprint Distance Race Report
In the ancillary Sprint distance race, both male and female races were dominated by youngsters as Under 20s Nikol Micallef of Mosta Tri Team and Debora Desira of the MYTA – Malta Youth Triathlon Academy won the race. Micallef set up a lead of over 2 minutes in the swimming segment which held off team-mate Marlon Mallia notwithstanding the latter recording the fastest bike & run segments to finish off in second place. Micallef won the race in a time of 1 hour 10 minutes and 26 seconds, while Irish Paul Callalan took third place.

In the female race, Desira conquered fastest time splits in both swimming, cycling and running segments and she won in a time of 1 hour 28 seconds and 36 minutes. Behind her, Agones SFC’s Elaine Fenech was second while British Pam Batchelor was third overall.

In the Relay Sprint Race, it was the 24/7 Fitness Club's team who won the competition, with Luke Camilleri Cuschieri doing the swimming, Mark Lewis as a cyclist and Ryan Theuma finishing the 5KM run.
 
Comments by the MTF President
In his comments soon after the awards presentation, Triathlon Malta’s President Cyprian Dalli stated that ‘today we had to put up our best performance to out-stand the adverse weather conditions and deliver a race which was safe, fun and exciting. I am very glad that we succeeded. This was all thanks to our team of dedicated volunteers who ensure a smooth-running event, our team of race-preparation team and everyone who was involved in these championships. This would not have been possible without the priceless support of our main sponsors, Garmin Malta and Medcomms Ltd – authorised distributors of Garmin with whom we worked hand in hand all through this year to deliver this race today. As a president of this Federation, I really stood in awe of our athletes who today braved the elements and manage to finish the race safely and with exceptional performances’.

The Malta Triathlon Federation expressed its gratitude to Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club, the Malta Police Force especially the Traffic Section, Transport Malta, the Naxxar Local Council, the Malta Red Cross, the Farsons Group, Saracino’s Caterers and the Malta Bike Marshals who made the event possible.

A record number of 50 starters took part in this year’s Malta Youth Triathlon Series, organised by the Malta Triathlon Federation and supported by 24/7 Fitness Club. The series consists of five races (three triathlons, a duathlon and an aquathlon) which were held on the same course and date as the Senior events. By so doing, Triathlon Malta seeks to actively provide safe and challenging multisport events to young triathletes in order to ease their introduction into the senior events once they come of age.
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The participants whose age ranged from 5 to 16, were divided into four different categories according to their date of birth, and the race distances were adjusted accordingly.

In the youngest group, Alex Spiteri Fiteni and Julia Schembri of the topped the category after winning each race on the calendar. Paula Scerri & Tyler Grima were placed in second while Amy St. John and Neil Cassar finished in the third overall position.

In Category B, which gathered athletes between 9 and 11 years, Michael Xuereb and Chylen Fava finished joint first place in the boys, while Kayleigh Abela made it on top in the girls’ category and Julienne Woods finished second. Shannen Mallia and Max Spiteri Fiteni were third in this category.

Keira Attard and Kai Azzopardi were top female and male in Category C for athletes between 12 and 13 years after winning all races in the series. Luca Vella was second overall while Fabian Grech Manz was third in the overall ranking.

Category 4, with youths of between 14 and 15 was very hotly contested and finally it was Callie Hock and Thomas G. Woods who won the group standings. In second place came Emilia Vella and Pavel Dalli, while Gabriel Bongailas and Pia Zammit were third in this group, which is the stepping stone towards adult triathlon races.
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In his statement, Cyprian Dalli, President of Triathlon Malta said that ‘it is so encouraging seeing youth triathlon so thriving in Malta! We started this as an experiment some years ago and this is the second year running we are holding the Malta Youth Triathlon Series. I would like to express all our gratitude to the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy-MYTA and the newly-formed TriGozo team for investing so heavily in youth triathlon as well as SportMalta who believed and supported our project from the very beginning. We are hugely indebted to 24/7 Fitness Club who supported us and made this year’s series so exciting. Finally, heartfelt appreciation to the parents who voluntary help and officiate at our races’.
 

In the past days, the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy–MYTA held a very successful international training camp for its athletes in Slovenia. The camp, which was held between the 1st and the 10th of September, was based in the beautiful alpine surroundings of Kranjska Gora. A total of 26 Maltese young triathletes between the ages of 6 to 16 attended this camp, under the supervision of 4 MYTA triathlon coaches and coordinated by Triathlon Malta’s president.

The camp consisted in 27 hours of training spread across 9 days of training. Apart from the three sports disciplines of swimming, cycling and running, the young triathletes also had sessions of strength & conditioning, while other sessions based mainly on fun element such as canoeing, trekking, summer tabogganing and river-rafting. During their training, the athletes were exposed to scenarios totally different from their usual, such as high-altitude training, off-road running, swimming in fresh-water lakes and cycling with mountain bikes. This holistic approach gave an added exposure to different kinds of triathlon scenarios that the athletes will be facing once they start competing abroad.’
 
Apart from the contingent of athletes and coaches, parents also joined the training camp and had time to come together to explore the mountainous regions. The social programme made sure that the athletes and parents visited the most iconic parts of Slovenia - like the lakes of Bled and Bohinj, the Julian Alps, the caves in Postojna and the capital city of Ljubljana. Thus the contingent also had time to blend in the georgraphical and cultural side of the hosting country.
 
The coordinator of this camp, Cyprian Dalli was very satisfied with the outcome and stated that ‘this there was loads of planning and discussion to organise such a full-blown training camp, but we finally reached our goals. This was mainly thanks to the encouragement and funding from Sport Malta, who are partners with us, along with the European Triathlon Union in this project. It is fantastic seeing the young athletes facing so encouragingly the different scenarios they were offered, and perfecting their triathlon skills through fun and enthusiasm, while stenghtening their friendship and team-spirit in the process.
 
The Triathlon Coaches of MYTA were also very positive in their analysis of the camp. Maria Mizzi, Level 2 Triathlon Coach remarked that ‘this camp was an outstanding experience for the athletes, who trained twice a day in challenging but fun sessions. The areas were perfect as they were safe with inspiring scenarios and with plenty of fresh alpine air!’. Barry Farrugia, another Level 2 Triathlon Coach emphasised that ‘apart from the physical benefits of the camp, the experience served to strenghten the bonds between the athletes and us as coaches as we lived together for a week and get got to know each other deeper.’
 
The MYTA has been operating since 2013 and is a joint venture between the Malta Triathlon Federation, SportMalta, and European Triathlon Union. It currently has more than 50 young triathletes of ages between 6 and 16 who train regularly all year round even if they never did triathlon before. Any interested children and youths can contact the MYTA on info@triathlonmalta.org and a couple of free taster sessions can be arranged for any young athlete interested to join.

Rudolph Agius managed to qualify for the Ironman World Championship to be held on the 13th October 2018 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.  Considered to be triathlon’s most iconic event, Agius will be Malta's only third athlete to race Kona, following the participation of Dermot Galea and David Galea in the last 5 years. 
 
Agius secured his qualification with an impressive placing in Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt held on the 8th July 2018.  He finished in fifteenth place out of 464 triathletes in his category.  Two of the triathletes placing in the top fifteen were already qualified, paving the way for the Birkirkara triathlete to compete in Kona.
 
In this year’s Ocean Lava Malta long distance triathlon, Agius placed second.  This race was the culmination of his preparations for the qualifying race in Frankfurt, where he knew he will be facing stiff opposition from some of Europe’s top triathletes in his category.
 
Asked about his participation and the result he will be looking for in the world’s most iconic triathlon event, Agius said that his target was to better the result he obtained in the European Championships in Germany and to get the highest placing possible.  Referring to his intensive training regime in preparation for Kona, the Birkirkara St. joseph Triathlete said that following a short break on his return to Germany, he will embark on a tough 5-hour a day training programme, packing in three sessions daily.  He emphasised the need to be fully focused in his preparations, in order to be at his peak come the big day. Out of the three triathlon disciplines, Agius mentions cycling as the most challenging, where he has to spend long hours cycling in a country as small as Malta. In fact he is planning to do his longer cycling sessions abroad.
 
Agius emphasized that his endeavours would not have been possible without the assistance of his family, the Malta Triathlon Federation, his club Birkirkara St. Joseph and his sponsors namely Attard Brothers Group, Big Mat Malta, Nectar Group, The Cyclist, Garmin, Rocks Group and his masseur Derek Stafrace.

​Under scorching heat and the beautiful surroundings of the valley between Mdina and Mtarfa, the Malta Triathlon Federation held its annual National Duathlon Championship, raced on the distances of 8KM for Run 1, 27KM cycle and 4KM Final Run. The race was sponsored and supported by Eurosport Malta. 
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Margaret Seguna of Mellieha A.C. managed to defend last year’s title while rookie Jesrit Angel Camilleri of Birkirkara St. Joseph claimed his first ever National Title after only some months into the multisport scene.

​In the men’s race Camilleri’s strong running paved to way to his final victory when he finished Run 1 more that a minute ahead of competitors. However, it was Michael Bongailas of TriGozo who had the best cycling segment of the lot and entered Transition 2 in front. But Camilleri’s once again put his running to a good cause and it was him who claimed the title at the end by finishing the race is 1 hour, 27 minutes and 59 seconds. Bongailas was second overall while veteran David Galea took third place after a steady race.

In the female race, last year’s Duathlon Champion Margaret Seguna dominated the race by having the best splits in both Run 1 and the cycling segment. In the first transition, Seguna was already 2 minutes ahead of Lara Buttigieg of Agones SFC in second place. However, Buttigieg fought till the very last while also claimed the fastest Run 2, but it was not enough to take the title from Seguna, who won in a time of 1 hour 39 minutes and 28 seconds. Buttigieg took second place while Karen Amato of Mosta Tri Team joined them on the podium in third place.

Jesrit Camilleri was clearly overjoyed at the finish, just after he was crowned national champion for the first time in his very short multisport career. ‘It is still hard for me to find the words to describe what I am feeling. Possibly the closest way would be a combination of surprise and personal satisfaction. With only six months experience in multisport it was only natural for me not to put any high expectations on my first race’ said an emotional Camilleri. ‘Besides the fact that I was competing against more seasoned athletes a recent leg injury has hampered my training particularly when it comes to speed work. Luckily however everything went well and I could use my strong background in road running to bridge the gap that currently exists between myself and stronger cyclists. Despite the victory I still keep my feet firmly planted on the ground since I am aware that I have a lot of room for improvement. However, I am now more and more convinced that the move to multisport was one for the best for me and I certainly look forward to defend the championship in next year’s event’ he concluded.

On the other hand, Seguna seemed jubilant as she established herself as the dominating female in the local duathlon scene for the second year running. ‘The overall experience was great. I was mainly focusing on keeping last year's title. I knew I had to have a solid first run which was not easy considering the challenging route. I managed to keep up with some strong runners and I guess that was it’ stated Seguna. She also thanked the SportMalta Flexi Training Scheme, Triathlon Malta for the organisation and Team Barry for her support.  

The Age-Group awards were claimed by Malcolm Vassallo in the Under 20, Kersten Theuma and Anjelika Ruggier in the Over 20, Andrew Carter in the Over 25, Stephen Muscat and Lindsey Zammit in the Over 30, Nigel Camilleri in the Over 35, Alan Borg and Isabelle Caruana in the Over 40, Stefan Baluci in the Over 45 and Joseph Cremona and Glorianne Borg in the Over 50.
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The Malta Triathlon Federation thanks its sponsors, Eurosport Malta, it partners Garmin Malta, 24/7 Fitness Clubs, Magri Cycles, the Farsons Group, the Mtarfa Local Council, the Malta Police Force, especially the Rabat Police and the Traffic Section, the Malta Red Cross, and all the volunteers who helped and supported this championship.

The Constitution of the Malta Triathlon Federation is the highest form of governance of the Federation and all the matters pertaining to triathlon and multisport in Malta. The current Constitution was penned down in the earliest stages of the Malta Triathlon Association in 1986, with minor changes throughout the years.
However, it was strongly felt that a complete update of this very important document was needed, especially after the change from and association to a Federation and also to enable the ever-growing operations of the MTF. Thus, a consultation process has been initiated with the affiliated clubs in the last months and have now been finalised. The new version of the MTF Constitution has now been approved unanimously by all the MTF Council and the affiliated Club Delegates. 
The new Constitution is being attached underneath for information purposes of all the current members of the MTF, and for any feedback one might have. Feedback is being received via emails on info@triathlonmalta.org until Sunday 8th April 2018. Each email shall contain the name and MTF registration number on the MTF 2018 License. Those not containing these details shall not be deemed as valid feedback and shall be discarded. The Council will then discuss the feedback received, and shall be calling an Extraordinary General Meeting to approve the new MTF Constitution on Tuesday 17th April at 7pm at Kirkop Sports Complex.
The proposed new constitution and its annexes can be downloaded by clicking on the 'download file' below,

The Malta Triathlon Federation, has this evening, Thursday 8 March 2018, at 20:39, received the decision of the National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel  regarding the Doping Case of triathlete Keith Galea, who was found positive for the prohibited substance Stanozolol during a doping test carried out on the 25th of May 2017.

In its decision, the National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel states that the athlete in question failed to establish the he bore no significant fault or negligence and thus it ruled it has found Keith Galea in breach of Anti-Doping Regulations, 2015 [3 (2) (a) and (b)] and the WADA Code (Art. 2.3). Consequently, the Panel concludes that a four-year period of ineligibility applies and such shall commence from the date of the provisional suspension being the 14th of July 2017, that is until the  13 July 2021.

The Malta Triathlon Federation has taken note of this decision and will comply to the fullest by it.

The Malta Triathlon Federation, while utterly condemning  the use of prohibited substances in sport and confirming its zero-tolerance to such methods, once again direct its members and athletes to ensure at all times and at all costs to protect the integrity of sports, to save-guard their well-being and to respect and honour the intrinsic value of sport and triathlon.

The Executive Board
Malta Triathlon Federation
8 March 2018 - 22:35

​After an absence of many years, the Malta Triathlon Federation organised a Triathlon in the unusual months of winter in a Season Opener which saw the athletes racing on the Standard Distance, that is a 1.5KM swim, followed with a 40KM cycle and finished with a 10KM run on the Coast Road circuit. The race saw the success of the current National Champion, Graham Borg of Mosta Tri Team, and of Lara Buttigieg of Agones SFC.

Borg went ahead from start to finish and administered his race to register an emphatic win. He registered the best swim and the best cycle of the lot. Trailing Borg was Michael Bongailas, President and founder of TriGozo who has just been affiliated with the Federation some days before. Bongailas made good use of his fine transition skills as he registered the best transitions in both T1 and T2. In the running segment, Borg administered comfortably the advantage gained, while Kevin Muscat of Birkirkara St. Joseph registered the best running split. In the end it was Borg who took the honour with a total time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 10 seconds, with Bongailas in second and Josef Bonavia of Mosta Tri Team in close third place.

The battle for the female race was much more hardly-fought as Lara Buttigieg registered the best swimming split, but Isabelle Caruana of Mosta Tri Team had the best time on the bike, closing in the gap. Anjelika Ruggier had the best run from the female participants. Buttigieg kept her slight advantage to win it in a total time of 2 hours 34 minutes and 56 seconds, just 19 seconds ahead of Caruana in second place. Ruggier claimed the last place on the female podium.

Simultaneously with the main race, the Federation also organised a Sprint Triathlon, raced on half the distance. In the male category, it was the young star Nikol Micallef of Mosta Tri Team who registered the best swim and the best run, while veteran Joseph Cremona of Mellieha AC had the best time on the bike. At the end Micallef edged Cremona’s challenge to win the race. In the female Sprint race, it was rookie Lindsey Zammit of Agones SFC who cruised through all the segments of the race to claim the win.

Apart from the individual races, there was another competition for relay teams on both distances. In the Standard Distance, it was the team composed of Amand P. Verranenman, Gerard Said and Michael Attard who won the best place. In the Sprint Relay, the best swim was registered by Niki Lanzon, the best cycle was claimed by Nicholas Micallef while the best run was clocked by Michael Hughes. In the end, it was the team composed of Margaret Seguna, Nicholas Micallef and Glen Zammit who won the relay.

The Malta Triathlon Federation thanked wholeheartedly all those who supported the race, namely The Malta Police Force and the Traffic Section, Transport Malta, the Naxxar Local Council, the ARRTS Electronic Timing System and Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club. The Federation also expressed its gratitude to its sponsors, San Michel & Gatorade, Garmin Malta, Eurosport Malta, Go & Fun, and all the volunteers who marshalled the course during the race.

photos in this gallery by Gabriel Bongailas of Bongi's Photography and Marisa Xuereb.