A sizeable number of athletes took part in the recently held 35th Gozo marathon.
It was again a great success both in terms of participation by the athletes but also in terms of organisation carried out to perfection in each of the five races.
Competitors hailed from Gozo, Malta and even other countries.
These races include the half marathon (13.1 miles) and the 8 mile race, which pass through the various villages of Gozo, the 4km and 2km races as well as the Fun Run.
The half marathon, which is considered the most prestigious, was won by Drew Lang with a time of 1:17.13”. Following very close in second place was John Galea with a time of 1:18.53”.
For Drew Lang this was his first time in which he has won this race, he had won the eight-mile race for seven consecutive years and twice came in second in the Half Marathon.
This year he was able to finally achieve his goal, that of becoming a winner in both the 13.1 mile and the eight-mile race. In third place came Rodney Cassar with a time of 1:20.45”.
The record for this race still belongs to Charles Cilia who in 2006 recorded a time of 1:11.40”.
The first female who completed the race for the second consecutive year was Marisa Muscat with a time of 1:33.30’ and the first Gozitan was Ian Hutchinson with a time of 1:26.34’.
The eight-mile race was won by Melvin Mifsud with a time of 46.50”. The record for this race also belongs to Charles Cilia who in 2008 recorded a time of 43.14”. Now Charles Cilia is the holder of the best recorded times in both races, the 13.1 mile with a time 1:11.40” and the 8 mile with a time 43.14”
Second was Andrew Grech 47.11” followed by Kev Muscat 48.48”.
The first Gozitan home was Frankie Muscat in 57.17” followed by Domenic Cutajar 1:00.43”.
In the women’s category, the winner was Francesca Arrigo 1:00.43” followed by Hannah Pace 1:01.57”. The first Gozitan female was Modianne Aguis with a time of 1.06.47”
The 4km race for youths between the ages of 12 and 16 years was won by Julian Sammut among the boys, while Miriam Xerri was first among the girls. Miguel Tabone came in first in the Under 14 section for boys while Samuel Xerri was the first Gozitan Under 14.
In the 2km for those 12 years and under, the winner among the boys was Michael Paul Camilleri followed by Stefan Bajada. Andrea Shweiger was first among the girls. Christian Theuma was the winner in the Under 11 category, while Peter Debono won the Under 10 category. Johann Bajada won the Under 10 category for Gozitans.
Each competitor was given a commemorative medal with winners in each category given trophies including trophies for the first out of each age group, as well as trophies to Gozitans, and a trophy given to the athletics club with the most participants. This honour went to St. Patricks Athletic Club who had 37 members participating.
The Gozo Half Marathon is organised by the Gozo Amateur Athletic Club (GAAC) in collaboration with the Xaghra Youth Centre and supported by the Xaghra Local Council and San Michel Mineral Water (Farsons Ltd). The organisers thanked the Ministry for Gozo, as well as members of both the Police Department and Red Cross for their contribution in making these races as safe as possible.
Special thanks went to St Joseph Athletic Club Birkirkara for as well as the large amount of volunteers and marshals who were placed along the route to ensure the athletes remained on course.