​A team of six Maltese young triathletes have recently attended an international triathlon training camp organised by the International Triathlon Union in Serbia. The team was composed of Emilia Vella, Pia Zammit, Callie Hock, Pavel Dalli, Gabriel Bongailas and Sean Darmanin, all hailed from the Malta Triathlon Federation’s own nursery, the MYTA – Malta Youth Triathlon Academy, which is a joint project between the Federation, SportMalta and the European Triathlon Union. The athletes were accompanied by Triathlon Level 2 Coaches Maria Mizzi and Barry Farrugia. The training camp was split between the town of Kragujevac and the capital city of Belgrade.

​During this training camp, the Maltese Athletes had the opportunity to train under the supervision of some of the best youth triathlon coaches in the continent together with other young athletes coming not only from the Balkans and East Europe but also from many other countries where triathlon is developing. The Maltese coaches were also involved in delivering training sessions to the whole group of athletes during the camp.
 
The training camp was at perfect timing since practically all of these six athletes will be taking the big step and start racing together with the ‘adult’ triathletes by the end of this season. For most of them, this was the first international experience so they could compare their levels with those of their foreign peers.
 
‘Although we have been placing young athletes in these international training camps for the past 6 years, this is the first time we have such a solid team of 6 athletes and 2 coaches’ said Triathlon Malta’s president, Cyprian Dalli. ‘We are finally reaping the invest we made in the MYTA academy and now the kids have become of age and are leading the way in the development of Triathlon in Malta. We are blessed with a small but fantastic team of coaches who direct these youngsters in the right direction and ensure their progress and development is steady yet sustainable. We are also greatly indebted to SportMalta through who’s programme these athletes train for the continuous support shown towards our project and the development of our young talents. We are also very grateful for these opportunities to the European Triathlon Union and the International Triathlon Union, especially the Development Committee’.
 
As a conclusion to this camp, the Maltese athletes took part in an international Aquathlon race in Belgrade. The Maltese posted some very positive performances, with practically all them placing in the first ten, topped by Sean Darmanin’s second place overall in the Males competition. 

​With a contingent of 10 athletes and 2 coaches, Triathlon Malta has recently participated in the European Triathlon Championships organised by the ETU-European Triathlon Union in the town of Weert, the Netherlands. The championships were held on the Standard Distance of 1.5KM swim, 40KM non-drafting cycle and 10KM run.

The contingent, which was selected during last autumn’s Malta National Triathlon Championships consisted of Margaret Seguna, Lara Buttigieg, Anjelika Ruggier, Juliya Azzopardi Mazur, Karne Amato, Wayne Spiteri, Shaun Galea, Bernard Sant, Joseph Cremona and Darrel Schembri. The athletes were accompanied by Level 2 Triathlon Coaches Barry Farrugia and Maria Mizzi and headed by Triathlon Malta’s President, Cyprian Dalli.
​
In the female races, Seguna managed to obtain the best time out of all the Maltese female athletes when she finished in the time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 47 seconds. This result meant that Seguna placed in 5th place in her Age Group category. Seguna also registered the best time for the swim and the run segment among the Maltese female athletes with Lara Buttigieg obtaining the best timing of the cycle.

​In the male competitions, it was Bernard Sant who stopped the best time among the five Maltese male athletes, as he stepped the finish line in a total time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 34 seconds. Sant also had the best swim of all the Maltese athletes where he covered the 1500m in a time of 22 minutes and 12 seconds. The best cycle of the Maltese contingent was recorded by Wayne Spiteri who covered the 40KM course in a time of 56 minutes and 10 seconds. Spiteri also obtained the best Maltese time for the run as he clocked 41 minutes 28 seconds for the 10KM route.

During the weekend in Weert, Triathlon Malta’s President, accompanied by the two coaches, also attended the Annual General Assembly of the European Triathlon Union. Dalli had various bilateral meetings among the highest figures in international Triathlon, among them with Ms Marisol Casado, President of the International Triathlon Union and with Mr Renato Bertrandi President of the European Triathlon Union. ‘ It was another outing where Triathlon Malta showed that even if it is one of the smallest continental federation, it is one of the most dynamic and active. We fielded 10 athletes here which made us the most heavily represented country per capita in these European Championships. This augurs well for our continuous development and for the future of Triathlon in Malta and Gozo’ remarked Dalli.

24/7 Fitness Club, Malta largest chain of gyms and fitness centres, has one again teamed up with Triathlon Malta to assist and help the younger generation of Maltese triathletes in their triathlon journey. In fact, for the second consecutive year, 24/7 Fitness Club will be the sponsoring the youths and children multisport races all throughout the 2019 season.

For over 15 years, 24/7 Fitness Club has been one of the local leaders in wellness and fitness. At present they manage six fully equipped clubs which are located strategically all around Malta in Ta' Qali, Mellieha, St. Paul's Bay, San Gwann, Santa Lucija, and the latest introduction at Haz-Zebbug. They pride themselves as being leading innovators by being the first to implement the 24/7 opening hours policy and by having physiotherapists as part of the team, with free group classes and advocating training ethics within all the six outlets.

This will be the second consecutive year that 24/7 Fitness Club will be supporting the young triathletes of Triathlon Malta, following a successful season of events and series last year. The young athletes, raging from 6 years to 16 years coming from the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy - MYTA take part in multisport races all throughout the season and collect points for their performances. More than 50 young triathletes take part as they are divided into 4 different categories according to age. Apart from that, MYTA athletes had various sessions at the fitness centre of Ta' Qali throughout the winter months in preparation for their summer races.

Commenting this sponsorship agreement, Cyprian Dalli, President of Triathlon Malta and Chairperson of MYTA stated that 'We have nothing but deep gratitude to the people behind 24/7 Fitness club for this renewed support and assistance. We are proud to have teamed up with the best in the field and we are very glad that we have such a positive collaboration with everyone at 24/7. We are happy to have them during our races and they are happy to have our budding triathletes at their clubs! We thank all the team, Thomas, Ryan, Sasha, Tasha and especially Frankie Gauci who believe in our projects and support us always. True to their motto, they surely are making a positive change in the lives of our young triathletes!. '

On the other hand, 24/7 reflected these thoughts and said that : 'Supporting the future generations of athletes is a privilege for 24/7 Fitness Club. We believe that supporting young athletes to engage in sport activities is of utmost importance. Influencing and supporting young generations to engage in a healthy life style is a vision we continuously aim for and work hard to achieve, and so for the second year running,  we are proud to be the official sponsor of the Triathlon Malta and its young triathletes.'

24/7 Fitness is offering also various benefits for the adult athletes members of Triathlon Malta, especially discounts and benefits on memberships for their clubs and facilities. 

One can read more on by visiting the site http://fitnessclub247.com or send an email to info@triathlonmalta.org for more information.

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’.