An unexpected positive turnout in the 1st Edition of TriGozo Garmin Sprint Triathlon; a multi-sport race which took place on the beautiful island of Gozo. The event saw athletes of all ages, from youths to adults in which the majority participated individually. The event was sanctioned by the Malta Triathlon Federation and valid towards Triathlete Of The Year Points for the 2019 season.

The Adult’s Sprint Triathlon race saw Shaun Galea of Pembroke Athleta & Triathlon take the honours with a time of 1:03:49. Galea was 3rd out of the water behind Bernard Sant and Nikol Micallef of Mosta Tri Team respectively. Shaun Galea pushed through the challenging, hilly route and managed to fight for the win. The fastest run split was in fact registered by Shaun Galea himself. Second and third-placed triathletes were Bernard Sant and Neil Markham of Mosta Tri Team.

In the female section, the race saw current National Champion Hannah Cutajar taking the lead throughout the whole route, with a finishing time of 1:08:39. Hannah managed a steady pace throughout; earning the fastest splits in all three disciplines. Second and third-placed triathletes were Margaret Seguna of Mosta Tri Team and the Gozitan Felicienne Mercieca.
​
The relay race was won by the team composed of David Sammut, Jason Vella and Johan Galea with a finishing time of 1:05:37.

​The Youth Duathlon races, saw newcomer Liam Daly take the honours in Category 1 with a time of 4:17, while Miyah Vella of MYTA won the Category 1 Female category with a time of 5:18. Category 2 was won by Sven Cini of TriGozo and Julienne Woods of MYTA with a time of 16:25 and 18:12 respectively. Category 3 winners were Kai Azzopardi of MYTA with a time of 21:09 and Keira Attard of TriGozo with a time of 24:17, while Category 4 winners were Pavel Dalli of MYTA with a time of 25:57 and Pia Zammit, also of MYTA with a finishing time of 29:11.

The race organizers would like to thank the Ministry for Gozo, Gozo Sports Board, Zebbug Local Council, Transport Malta, The Malta Police Force, Agones SFC for the race setup, Mark Zammit for the ARRTS timing system, ERRC and all marshals who helped in one way or another during the race.
​
Also, main race sponsor Garmin Malta for fully supporting the event and also helping with the setup, CMC services SportsMania for sponsoring the race t-shirts of all athletes, also for the trophies and medals, H2Only Purified Drinking Water for providing water, Cassar Camilleri for providing Safari juices, Max Saliba for all promotional design, Al Capone Bar & Restaurant for providing vouchers to all finishers. Last but not least, all the athletes who participated in TriGozo Garmin Sprint Triathlon. The positive vibe made it all worth it. TriGozo’s 2nd Edition multi-sport race will be held next year.

​Margaret Seguna & Shaun Galea were both declared 2019 National Duathlon Championships in an exciting race organised by Triathlon Malta and supported by Eurosport Malta. Seguna made it three in a row as she once again defended her National Duathlon Championship Title which she won in 2017 and 2018, while Shaun Galea added this title to his already distinctive array of National Titles.

Triathlon Malta made use of the newly tarmacked roads around the ex-military runway at Siggiewi for the cycling circuit while the runs were along the scenic roads in the Ghar Lapsi and Tal-Providenza areas. From the very first seconds of the race, Galea of Pembroke Atleta Triathlon & Athletics club, immediately went in front of the pack to set the pace and cover the 6500m on the challenging route with a comfortable lead of 40 seconds over club-mate Darrel Schembri who has been featuring in the top groups in the past handful of races. The short bike course lapped 10 times, together with the drafting format of the race gave way to exciting and attacking cycling. In fact a group of 5 male cyclists managed to challenge Galea and register a faster time than his, including Josef Bonavia who recorded the fastest bike segment. In the second run and final segment of the race, Schembri managed to obtain the best time but Galea held comfortably to the lead and won the race in a time of 1 hour, 8 minutes and 21 seconds. Coming in second place with a 90 seconds difference was TriGozo’s Michael Bongailas, with Mosta Tri Team's Bernard Sant trailing him with just 10 seconds away.
​
The female race was completely dominated by Mosta Tri Team’s new signing, Margaret Seguna who took off immediately and registered a staggering 3 minute lead at the end of the Run 1. In second place, Lara Buttigieg fought hard on the bike and managed to pull off half of Seguna’s lead. But it was again in the run that Seguna left no chance for her competitors as she went on to take the third Duathlon Championship in as many years in a total time of 1 hour 17 minutes and 47 seconds. Buttigieg held on to the second place while Anjelika Ruggier who had strong runs but a rather problematic bike segment had to settle for third place overall.

In the Age Group Categories, Debora Desira & Malcolm Vassallo won the Under 20 while Darrel Schembri the Over 20 categories. The Over 30 titles were claimed by Maureen Farrugia and Josef Bonavia, while the Over 40 winners were Marlon Mallia and Miriam Borg Saydon. Suzanne Farrugia and Brian Magri took the Over 50 award while Victor Calvagna won the Over 60 title.

Immediately after the race, Seguna expressed her satisfaction for her race. ‘I felt strong and in control all throughout the race but I also managed to enjoy every part of the challenging but beautiful course especially during the run. I am very grateful to the Malta Triathlon Federation for putting up this race and to SportMalta for the FlexiTraining Scheme. I am also very appreciative for the managers at the Intensive Therapy Unit were I work for their constant support and understanding. Now I can focus on my most important race at the European Championships in the Netherlands and the rest of the triathlon season in Malta’ said Seguna. Echoing the same feeling, Shaun Galea was ecstatic as he stated that ‘Winning this National Championship has a very important meaning to me as it was the first time that I won this title and redeemed myself after last year’s performance. I approached this race with an aggressive attitude from start to finish as I wanted to test my fitness for the season ahead. It gave me a great morale boost for the upcoming races especially in view of my main competition this year for the European Triathlon Championship with the support of the Malta Triathlon Federation and the Maltese Olympic Committee’ said a radiant Galea.

Triathlon Malta also organised 4 youth races immediately after so as to continue to develop local youth triathlon. These races were attended by a record breaking 50 budding triathletes between 6 and 16 years of age mainly coming from the MYTA-Malta Youth Triathlon Academy and TriGozo. In the Juniors Category 4, it was Pia Zammit and Pavel Dalli who took the honours, while Kai Azzopardi and Kayleigh Abela won the Youth Category 3 races. In the Minors Category 2 it was Paul Camilleri and Julienne Woods who finished first and Aiden Muscat and Miyah Vella won the Cadets Category 1 races.
​
The local multisport calendar now continues with other races in the coming months with the Federation’s other two national championships for Aquathlon taking place on the 29th of June and the Triathlon Grand Finale on the 13th of October.

The first race of the 2019 multisport season took off from where the 2018 season left – with triathletes racing in very tough weather conditions with rain, hail and thunderstorms to give an even harder challenge to the athletes. It was in such conditions that Lara Buttigieg and Nikol Micallef managed to overcome all obstacles and win the first edition of the Winter Triathlon Challenge supported by Regjun Tramuntana.

The race kicked off under the pelting rain at Gnejna, in Mgarr under the starting orders of Anton Mifsud, President of the Regjun Tramuntana and Paul Vella, Mayor of the Mgarr Local Council. The athletes crossed the bay twice for a total of 500 metres before entering Transition One. The Two Mosta Tri Team athletes, Nikol Micallef and Malcolm Vassallo completed the swim together in 7 minutes 28 seconds. However, Micallef was faster in transition and he managed to pull away 10 seconds before Vassallo. The uncompromising cycling segment took the athletes all the way up Gnejna Hill and Tas-Santi Hill before arriving at il-Kuncizzjoni. Racing a few metres away from home, Micallef strengthened his lead and by a further minute on Vassallo at the end of the cycle. However, Vassallo fought back in the run and he managed to almost catch Micallef at the end, but it was the latter who enter the Mdina Gate first in a total time of 52 minutes and 18 seconds, with Vassallo trailing just 24 seconds behind to finish in second. The third place was claimed by the Birkirkara St. Joseph athlete Jesrit Angel Camilleri who registered the best run of the day to finish less than a minute away from Vassallo.

In the female category, 2018 Triathlete of the Year athlete, Lara Buttigieg immediately set the standard by dominating both the swim and the cycling sections. Behind her, only Anjelika Ruggier could somehow keep the pace. However, Ruggier had to pay dearly the grades of the cycling leg as she Buttigieg marched on finishing her cycle a full 8 minutes ahead of her closest contender. In the running section, both Buttigieg and Ruggier registered exact time which meant that Buttigieg took the title in 10 seconds over the hour mark, while Ruggier had to settle for second. The Spanish Noemi Perez was third overall.

Both Micallef and Buttigieg appeared tested yet very happy soon after the race. ‘Being from Mgarr, I really wanted to give everything I had inside for this Challenge’ said Micallef. ‘The tough climbs, the beautiful views, and the organisation of the race made it even more exciting and challenging. I am very pleased that I managed to bring home the win and bring the trophy in the Northern Region from where I hail’ concluded Micallef. On the other hand, Buttigieg remarked that ‘it was a tough challenge to start and to finish the race. I found myself feeling strong of the uphills and gained some good times on the bike. I am extremely thankful for the whole team of organisers and the volunteers of Triathlon Malta who braved the elements to deliver this exciting race. A huge thank you also to the Malta Police Force  who ensured the race was smooth and safe throughout.’

The race also had a competition for relay teams. The winning team was composed of swimmer David Sammut, cyclist Jason Vella (who registered the best cycling segment of the whole competition) and runner Johan Galea. The run event was won by Leslie Camilleri and Sharon Attard.

In the Age Groups, Nigel Camilleri topped the Over 30, Mario Muscat the Over 40 and Michailo Mishin the Over 50.

The awards of the race were presented immediately after at Mdina Gate by Anton Mifsud, President of the Regjun Tramuntana together with Mayor Peter Dei Conti Sant Manduca and Deputy Mayor Joseph Debono of the Mdina Local Council. Mifsud underlined that the Region was very encouraging of such sporting events and he declared that it was the Region’s intention to make this winter Triathlon Challenge a yearly event for the benefit of the local sporting community.
​
Triathlon Malta expressed its gratitude to the Regjun Tramuntana as well as to all volunteers who made the race possible, the MYTA - Malta Youth Triathlon Academy’s Parents Committee, Birkirkara St Joseph, the ARRTS Electronic Timing System, 24/7 Fitness Clubs, The Malta Red Cross, The Malta Bike Marshalls, the Malta Police Force Traffic Section, the Local Councils of Mgarr, Rabat and Mdina, FarsonsDirect, Eurosport Malta and Garmin Malta for the support of the race. 

​Triathlon is a sport that is intrinsically connected to the hot, summer months, where the athletes race under the scorching heat and in humid conditions. But Triathlon Malta has come up with a novel idea to give the triathlon community a new, exciting challenge which will be held in the middle of winter and in the coldest of all months.

The idea of a ‘Winter Triathlon’ came up after the Federation was approached by the Reġjun Tramuntana to organise a new, different kind of triathlon and in different location in the Northern Region. Thus, the first edition of the Reġjun Tramuntana Winter Triathlon Challenge was born and the race will be held on Sunday 20 January.

Apart from the cold temperatures and wintry conditions, the athletes will also face other challenges, mainly the elevations of the course itself. In fact, after a swim in the cold waters at Ġnejna, the athletes would start there cycle along one of the most notorious uphill stretches in the Maltese Islands, all the way up of Tas-Santi Hill to il-Kunċizzjoni in Rabat. This hill presents an elevation of 230 metres in just 4KM giving the athletes an exciting challenge all along the route. Once the cycling segment of the race is done, the athletes will leave their bikes at Il-Kunċizzjoni and start the run, which presents a very demanding descent to the Fiddien Valley in the first half, while presenting an excruciating final 3KM of continuous uphill until an exhilarating finish through the iconic Mdina Gate.

The list of participants presents some of the most hardened triathletes in the local scene together with some healthy numbers of new faces and athletes who will be making their triathlon debut in this race.

In a brief statement, Cyprian Dalli, President of the Malta Triathlon Federation and Race Organiser stated that :  ‘bringing together this type of Triathlon is a logistic headache, since it is not our usla type of organisation and we have to man 3 different venues at one go. However, since we were strongly supported by the Reġjun Tramuntana and we received a lot of enthusiasm by the local triathlon community, we decided to go for it. Its exciting preparing and planning such a race which will take the athletes along some of the most impeccable and untouched rough natural surroundings these islands have to offer and we are doing all we can to deliver a fun, exciting and safe race for all participants’.

Mr Anthony Mifsud, President of the Northern Region declared that : ‘since its inception, Regjun Tramuntana has been a strong believer that Sport is an important part of community cohesion and community belonging.   When we carried out the economic, social and cultural plan, Sport was identified as one of the 6 pillars on which the Region should work.  Thus when the Triathlon Malta approached us with a Winter Triathlon, we immediately accepted the idea and set forth to organise this as the very first activity, a competitive race spread over three of our localities, - Mgarr, Rabat and Mdina. We believe strongly in such activities and look forward to organise other activities within our region, bringing together athletes and the communities together’.
​
The race will start at 8am this Sunday from Ġnejna, limits of l-Imġarr and is expected to finish at the Mdina Gate between 9am and 9:30am. Spectators are encouraged to attend especially at the finish to congratulate athletes crossing the finish line. 

The Malta Triathlon Federation is launching its membership & Licence Form for the 2019 season. All athletes who will be taking part in the race organised and sanctioned by the Federation are requested to have a fully paid licence. 
Those athletes who will apply and pay for the licence before the end of the year 2018, shall benefit from a 20% discount in comparison to last year's fee.
Triathlon Malta urges all its members and athletes as well as those who are planning to take part in multisport races during 2019 to apply immediately for the licence. Application can be done either individually or through one of the affiliated clubs. Being a member of one of the affiliated clubs brings along various benefits, one of which is a discount on the licencing fee.
The application form can be downloaded from here : 
​

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. 
​​

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.
​
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.
​
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.
​
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’.