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.

During the MTF Council Meeting 3/2018, held this evening, the Council of the Malta Triathlon Federation unanimously voted in favour of the request of the affiliation of TriGozo - Gozo's first ever Triathlon Club. The endorsement became official after months of negotiation between the Federation and the high-ranking officials of the club, and after all the requirements set out in the Federation's Constitution were met. This means that the number of affiliated clubs now rise to 8 and represents the whole of the Maltese Islands.

STANDARD DISTANCE & SPRINT DISTANCE TRIATHLONS

NON-DRAFTING (DRAFT-ILLEGAL)

INDIVIDUAL OR RELAY-TEAMS on BOTH DISTANCES

EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION (Registration and payment to be received by THURSDAY 15 FEBRUARY)

FINAL CHANCE TO REGISTER : 25 FEBRUARY at 8:00pm

REGISTRATION FORM : HERE

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE : https://www.facebook.com/events/1540649972677547/


*** IMPORTANT NOTICE : PARTICIPANTS MUST BE MTF MEMBERS for 2018 ***
Get in touch if you need membership.

As the Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport today announced the semi-finalists of the Sport Malta Sport Awards - Għażliet Sportivi Nazzjonali 2017, Triathlon Malta is proud to see that four Triathlon-related nominations have reached the semifinals of these prestigious annual sporting recognition.

National Triathlon Champions Graham Borg and Hannah Pace are both listed as semi-finalists in the Sports Person of the Year. Apart from their local National titles, Borg also parades a 1st place in the hisa category at the Vattenfall World Triathlon Olympic Distance Triathlon in Stockholm, and an Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualification following his second place in category at Ironman 70.3 in Turkey.  Pace had two successive podium finishes at the European Triathlon Championships in both the Olympic and the Sprint Distance in June, while, together with her French Triathlon Team, placed as first team Elite in the Coupe des Clubes de France last September.

Although his very young age, Thomas G. Woods has already achieved very conspicuous results. Representing the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy - MYTA, Woods was the overall winner of Category 3 of the first-ever Malta Youth Triathlon Series. He also competes in swimming where he won numerous medals in swimming meets held by the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta.

The fourth semi-finalist from Triathlon Malta is the Federation's President, Cyprian Dalli. Dalli, during 2017 was not only re-elected as President of the MTF for a third consecutive term, but was also re-appointed as an Executive Board Member of the Mediterranean Triathlon Federation of which he is a founding member.
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The final awards honouring the various sports achievements wil lbe announced during an event organised by the Malta Sports journalists Association and Sport Malta on Saturday 17 February 2018. 

​The Malta Triathlon Federation has elected a new Executive Board which will be in office at the Federation’s highest managerial level for the next three years.

​After a strong campaign by both sides, incumbent Cyprian Dalli was re-elected in the post of President for a third term running. Contender Davide Cachia managed to achieve 30 votes while Dalli attained 48, with 4 invalid votes.

The post of Secretary General was filed by Vanessa Woods who scored 46 votes against the 34 votes of John Vella, while two votes were invalid. Even though Woods was a Delegate on the Council of the Federation, she will be serving for the first time on the Executive Board.

The post of Treasurer which was filled for the past 20 years by Oswald Spiteri became vacant as he retired as an administrator and was filled by Elisa Azzopardi, also a new face on the Triathlon Malta Board.

During a strongly-attended Annual General Meeting, Dalli made his outgoing report during which he outlined the various achievements of Triathlon Malta in the past year. In particular, Dalli expressed his gratitude towards Spiteri and proposed that he is awarded an Honorary Life Membership with the Federation, to which the crowd expressed its acceptance with an applause. Dalli also dwelt on the problems that the Federation encountered during the past months and he reached out to all present to forget all issues and institute a new sense of unity and belonging with the Federation.

Oswald Spiteri gave a detailed explanation of the financial management of the Federation and its income and expenditure for the last 12 months. He emphasised the fact that during his 20 years a Treasurer, he never saw the financial situation of the Federation in such healthy state.

Following this, an ad-hoc electoral commission was set up, with Euchar Camilleri as Chairperson while George Steve Darmanin and Ben Mifsud acted as scrutineers and tellers for the voting process.

Soon after the result was out, all the candidates congratulated each other and shook hands in front of the crowd.

In his acceptance speech, Cyprian Dalli said that now that the Election was over, all the focus of the Federation should be to renew a sense of unity and togetherness among all members. He emphasised that Triathlon in Malta can only progress and improve if every stake-holder forgets about personal agendas and come together to improve the state of things. He thanked all those who took part in this democratic process and the affiliated clubs for their contribution in the Council and in the project of the Federation.

The Malta Triathlon Federation brought to a conclusion an exciting 2017 multisport season some weeks ago. As always, the last anticipate title on the line is that of the Triathlete Of The Year (TOTY) points scheme. This system is aimed at awarding all athletes who took 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 2017 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, it was young star Shaun Galea who topped the series, claiming his first ever TOTY title, while claiming also the First Place in the Under 20 category. The strength of the younger generation was also evident in second place won by Neil Markham, improving on his third place from 2016. Markham also topped the Under 23 Category. In third place came Nicholas Bilocca for the first time on the podium of this classification after a very consistent season, while also winning the Over 40 category.
 
In the female category it was newcomer Celine Pace who took the honour and was declared Triathlete of the Year for the first time while also winning the Over 30 title. Margaret Seguna finished second overall and first in the over 35, after a strong season. Youngster Anjelika Ruggier won the third place overall and first Under 23 in the females category.
 
In a statement, Cyprian Dalli, President of the Malta Triathlon Federation congratulated all the winners and thanked all particpants of the various multisport races in Malta for yet another full and exciting season. Dalli also thanked the race organisers, the affiliated Clubs, race marshals and helpers whose valuable back-stage work make the races and events possible and help keep the local triathlon community alive with the numerous multisport events throughout the year.