Marylynn Bezzina and Mark Zammit were the clear winners of the Salina Bay Triathlon held last Sunday at Salina Bay and Coast Road.
The event, which consisted of a 1,500m Swim, a 40km Cycle and a 10km Run, was a Selection Race for the Triathlon Championship of the Small States of Europe which is scheduled to take place in Luxembourg on 2 July.
Zammit dominated the race from beginning to end, exiting from the cool and calm water of the bay in a time of 21m.06s,, over four minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, Nicky Farrugia, William Brydon and Gordon Camenzuli.
Even in the cycle segment of the race, Zammit still managed to obtain the best time, covering the 40kms in 1hr.01m.12s, though this was only marginally better than David Galea’s time.
In the 10km run, it was Michael Gellel who managed to cover the distance in the fastest time of 37m.32s, but this was not enough to earn him a podium finish. Gordon Camenzuli and David Galea came in together in 2hrs.09m.18s to occupy 2nd and 3rd, while Zammit finished first in 2hrs.05m06s.
Marylynn Bezzina’s dominance of the race was equally emphatic.
After finishing the swim in 29m.10s, she went on to register a very good time of 1hr.13m.14s for the cycle and covered the run in 45m.32s, to finish the race in 2hrs.27m.56s. In second place was the veteran athlete Debbie Caruana Dingli in 3hrs.04m.20s.
It was William Brydon who carried the flag for the veteran athletes, covering the race in 2hrs.29m.24s, followed by Chris Iwanik in 2hrs.33m.28s.
Both Zammit and Bezzina qualify automatically for Luxembourg’s Triathlon Championship, but the times achieved by Galea, Camenzuli and Gellel all fall within 5% of the winner’s time and therefore earn them selection for the race as well. In the women’s category, unfortunately, Bezzina will be Malta’s sole representative.
Zammit’s and Bezzina’s times (2hrs.05m.06s and 2hrs.27m.56s respectively) fall far short of the Minimum Qualifying Standards (MQS) set by the Malta Olympic Committee for next March’s Commonwealth Games which are scheduled for Melbourne, Australia. These times are: men: 1hr.56m and women: 2hrs.10m and at the moment they look unreachable. However, a group of athletes are presently training hard with the aim of achieving the impossible.
Last Sunday’s race was assisted by the Police and St James Hospital (Sliema), while the main sponsors were Kee Klamps of Pieta, Powerade and Kristal Water, and The Plum Tree Restaurant, Qawra.