The increase in popularity in endurance and long distance triathlon has been such that Malta has been very well represented in Ironman triathlons around the world.
The Ironman race is not for the faint hearted and is considered to be the ultimate challenge for triathletes. Malta is no exception and the list of 'Ironman' graduates has increased substantially over the last few years. Whilst some athletes just do one Ironman race, quite a few discover a thirst for such races and quench that thirst by undertaking several races in a year.
Ironman Austria, is undoubtedly one of the most sought after races with Maltese athletes - suffice to say, this year's edition saw an all time high, with a total of 19 Maltese triathletes, five of which represent Mosta Tri Team, start and finish the race. Some where facing the hilly routes for the first time, others were returning, hungry for more.
Current National Triathlon Champion Graham Borg is no stranger to endurance racing, having a substantial amount of Ironman 70.3 races under his belt, including a qualification at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Austria served as a comeback to Ironman racing for Borg, having had a mishap at Ironman Mexico four years ago. Borg, who is self coached, explained that a well thought out training strategy enabled him to break the sub 10 hours barrier but with that comes a lot of sacrifice and energy focusing on this distance. "This distance requires specific training so I had to miss out on shorter races, which I could have potentially won, but this was my focus and I was determined to achieve it. I have a full agenda of races which include the European Championships in Estonia, Ironman 70.3 Poland and World Championships in South Africa whilst Ironman Barcelona wraps up my international calendar for 2018. This means a tough summer training long hours in the heat. Bring it on!
Josef Bonavia is another Ironman aficionado, who in the span of four years has completed 14 Ironman 70.3 and 6 Ironman races. Austria proved to be a bitter sweet experience for Bonavia, who also had a sub 10 hour target which he narrowly missed by 24 seconds. " A silly mistake from my side cost me my target - caught up in the excitement of the race I forgot to wear the race bib, and had to turn back, look for it amongst hundreds of bags in transition and continue racing - lesson learnt, will not happen at my next race in Barcelona in October.
William Brydon is probably the only Maltese athlete with the largest number of appearances on this famed course - six times, the first being in 2006. Brydon explained that he finds this course to be one of the most beautiful ones with strong support throughout the whole course. Furthermore he considers it to be perfect timing since being held in the beginning of summer will not see him train in the midst of the Maltese summer.
The first timer's perspective
Felicienne Mercieca, is the first Gozitan female triathlete to cross an Ironman finish line - training for Gozitan athletes does not come easy as Mercieca explained. "There are no 25m pools in Gozo, so I had to take some very early channel crossings to train properly, moreover, when you need to cover distances of over 100km on the bike, the roads become repetitive and boring. Having said that Ironman Austria was an amazing experiece, the scenery and atmosphere make all the pain and sacrificies worth it! I will definitely do another Ironman sometime soon"
Another athlete who might not share Mercieca's outlook on Ironman is Isabelle Caruana who took up triathlon in the summer of 2016 after having completed the Alive Cycling Challenge. Caruana was not daunted by her lack of experience in triathlon and successfuly completed the race. However, it is very unlikely that Caruana will be making a return to an Ironman race, mostly due to the commitment its preparation requires which saw her spend less quality time with her family.
Maltese Athletes at Ironman Austria
All Maltese athletes in Austria successfully completed the course to the sound of "You are an Ironman" as they crossed the celebrated blue carpet.
The Maltese contingent was made up of Steven Apap Bologna, Claire Azzopardi Lane, Stephen Banavage, Nicholas Bilocca, Josef Bonavia (Mosta Tri Team), Graham Borg (Mosta Tri Team), Samuel Borg, Stefan Borg (Mosta Tri Team), William Brydon, Victor Calvagna, Isabelle Caruana (Mosta Tri Team), Anthony Fenech, Elaine Fenech, Edmond Friggieri, Mark Galea, Michael Galea (Mosta Tri Team), Felicienne Mercieca, Marvic Mizzi, Daren Zahra.