The third and penultimate race of the BSJ Go & Fun Sprint Triathlon Series took place on Sunday.  Cloudy and clammy weather made a bit of a welcome change from the searing hot conditions that athletes encountered in the previous two races, nevertheless the humid conditions did provide a challenge for those taking part.

The race saw Shaun Galea and Bernard Sant back to local racing having missed the second race due to international commitments.   First out of the water was Shaun Galea who emerged with a three second advantage over Sant.  Both had a comfortable advantage over Nikol Micallef. Galea kept his lead as he exited the first transition and onto the 20km bicycle segment.  Places changed in this segment, when Josef Bonavia, despite having a slower swim than Galea and Sant made up for the gap, by registering the fastest bike segment of the day and narrowing the gap between other possible contenders for a podium place.  As the race progressed into the 5k run, Galea picked up the pace to register the fastest run of the day and to win the race in a time of 1 hour  and 49 seconds.  In second place was Bernard Sant who clocked 1 hour 4 minutes and 38 seconds whilst Josef Bonavia claimed his place on the podium when he finished the race thirteen seconds behind Sant. 

In the females' segment, Anjelika Ruggier clocked the fastest swim. Margaret Seguna followed two seconds behind her whilst Lara Buttigieg followed suit 33 seconds behind them.  A fast transition from Buttigieg saw her make up for the lost time to head onto the bike course.  The bike segment was a close battle between Buttigieg and Seguna who had 33 seconds separating her from Buttigieg.  Determined to secure her second win Buttigieg took off onto a tenacious run to see her finish the race in a time of 1 hour 7 minutes and 48 seconds.  Buttigieg registered a marked improvement from the first and second races of the series.

Jesrit Camilleri and Lara Buttigieg are in pole position going into the fourth and final race of the series, by heading their respective overall classification.

The fourth and final race of the BSJ Go & Fun Sprint Triathlon Series will take place on Sunday 22nd September on the Salina Coast Road. The Race, which has been designated by the Malta Triathlon Federation as the National Sprint Triathlon Championships will start at 8:00am.