Race Report : National Triathlon Championships 2014 : a huge success

It was truly a day of celebration for the sport of Triathlon in Malta as the 2014 came to an exciting 
finale at the National Triathlon Championships which were held on Sunday 12 October at the new 
venue of Marfa and L-Ahrax tal-Mellieha.

The Malta National Triathlon Championships saw a record number of 98 athletes registered for the 
races, with a very conspicuous number of these coming from overseas. However, the Maltese held 
up perfectly to the challenge and claimed all six podium places in the main Standard Distance 
Triathlon.

In the Female's category, it was immediately clear that it was going to be a fight between three. 
While Hannah Pace excited the swim in first place, Danica Bonello Spiteri and Margaret Seguna were 
hot on her heels as the trio were within 30 seconds from each other into Transition One. Once onto 
the technical and challenging cycle segment, Bonello Spiteri took the lead and entered Transition 
Two with a half-minute lead over Pace. Bonello Spiteri fired off in the run by building up an 
unassailable advantage to claim her 12th National Triathlon Championship in 2 hours 18 minutes 
and 21 seconds. Hannah Pace managed to cling to second place (and winning the Under 23 
Category) with Margaret Seguna finishing third overall.

In the Males Section, The pursuit of the defence of last year's National Title by Keith Galea took a 
decisive step forward within the first few moments into the swim, which saw Galea entering 
Transition One with already a 180 second lead over second-placed Rudolph Agius. Fabio Spiteri 
landed an impressive performance on the cycle as he stormed to second place with a segment time 
being one and a half minute better than the rest of the field. Out into the run, both Galea's and 
Spiteri's efforts equalled each other, however the lead of Galea was too huge to overcome. This was 
Keith Galea's fourth National Triathlon Championship title, complimenting his Duathlon and 
Aquathlon Titles in 2014. Fabio Spiteri came in second and claimed the Over 40 Category, while 
Rudolph Agius claimed the third spot on the podium. 

The Age Category trophies were won by Jude Zammit and Suzanne Farrugia in the Over 50, 
Donatelle Camilleri and David Galea in the Over 40 and Neil Markham in the Under 23.

In the Sprint-Distance race held simultaneously, Michelle Scott of Great Britain while youngster Nina 
Zammit claimed second place. Johanna Galea was third on the podium. The Male race was won by 
Cliff Sultana, with Marlon Mallia and Michael Bongailas conquering the podium. The Age Categories 
Awards in the Sprint Triathlon were claimed by Jem Lawson of Great Britain in the Over 60, Michele 
Granger of Canada and Pawlu Brincat in the Over 50, Kelvin Goodwin and Lucy Cutler of Great Britain 
in the Over 40, while Shaun Galea and Lara Buttigieg claimed the Under 23 Categories.

Awards were presented immediately after the races by Mr Mario Micallef, Director of Sport of the 
Maltese Olympic Committee.

The Malta Triathlon Federation expressed great satisfaction for the event, and congratulated all the 
participants and especially those who claimed the titles. The growing number of triathletes on the 
island as well as the ever-expanding number of foreign visits to the championships, coupled with a 
marked increase in quality, is a clear sign that multisport in Malta is on the increase.

The MTF thanked the main sponsors, BBB Bike Parts - Malta and The Cyclist Bike Shop, all the other 
sponsors of the race, the Mellieha Local Council and the Malta Police Force for their cooperation and 
support throughout this event.

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