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.
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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’.
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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 : 
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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.