Hannah Pace & Keith Galea confirm their titles as Triathletes Of The Year 2016

The Malta Triathlon Federation brought to a conclusion an exciting 2016 multisport season with an event to award the topmost athletes ranked in is annual Triathlete Of The Year (TOTY) points scheme. This system aims at awarding all athletes who take part in all the multisport events organised or sanctioned by the Federation during the season by points according to their classification in any given event. This therefore lay a strong emphasise on consistency throughout the season.

The 2016 calendar of multisport events consisted of 13 different events raging from sprint distance triathlons, to aquathlons, to duathlons and culminating in the National Triathlon Championships of last October. The final TOTY classification was rated on the best 9 points for each athlete, making this a hard-fought competition between athletes at all levels.

In the Male category, Keith Galea once again dominated the series by winning the series with a strong margin thus claiming the TOTY title for a record 8 times. In second place was Omar Said, a relative new-comer to the sport who also clinched the the Over 35 top spot. Neil Markham, one of the most promising young triathletes in circulation was close in third place and the overall winner of the Under 23 category.

In the Female list, it was once again Hannah Pace who topped the bill confirm her success in the 2015 TOTY. The second spot on the podium was grabbed by Lara Buttigieg after a very consistent season. Third place was won by the Gozitan Felicienne Mercieca on her second triathlon season.

The TOTY 2016 awards were presented to the first 10 places in each Gender as well as Age-Categories, as follows :

• Keith Galea: Triathlete of the Year 2016
• Hannah Pace : Triathlete of the Year 2016
• Omar Said : Second Overall& First Over 35
• Lara Buttigieg : Second Overall
• Neil Markham : Third Overall & First Under 23
• Felicienne Mercieca : Third Overall
• Shaun Galea : Fourth Overall
• Michelle Vella Wood : Fourth Overall & First Over 35
• James Cuschieri : Fifth Overall
• Suzanne Farrugia : Fifth Overall & First Over 50
• Alexander Schembri : Sixth Overall
• Anjelika Balzan Ruggier : Sixth Overall & First Under 23
• Kevin Muscat : Seventh Overall & First Over 45
• Claire Azzopardi Lane : Seventh Overall
• Kelvin Goodwin : Eighth Overall and First Over 40
• Nina Zammit : Eighth Overall
• Bernard Sant : Ninth Overall
• Karen Amato : Ninth Overall & First Over 40
• Kristjan Briffa : Tenth Overall
• Charmaine Sciberras : Tenth Overall
• Claudia Zammit : First Over 45
• Hadrian Bonello : First Over 50
• Anthony Fenech : First Over 55
• Joseph Cortis : First Over 60
• Marian Belsten : First Over 60

Moreover, the Malta Triathlon Federation also awarded special prizes to those athletes who managed to obtain prestigious international results throughout the season. These awards were presented to Rudolph Agius, Danica Bonello Spiteri, Lara Buttigieg, David Galea, Keith Galea, Hannah Pace, Margaret Seguna, Fabio Spiteri and Michelle Vella Wood.

A special award for Outstanding Sportmanship Behaviour was awarded to athlete Mark Lewis who, during the National Duathlon Championships in April, deliberated stopped his race to assist a fellow athlete who had an accident during the cycling segment.

A Life-Time Appreciation award was presented to Dermot Galea for his outstanding contribution to the development of Triathlon in Malta.
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Cyprian Dalli, President of the Malta Triathlon Federation, thanked all athletes for making 2016 a year to remember. He said that this year saw more than 200 different athletes taking part in at least one race and this was a huge record for the sport of Triathlon in Malta. He expressed his gratitude to all the members of the Executive Board, the Council and the affiliated clubs for their constant hard work for the benefit of the sport and its athletes.

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