Following the unfavourable results which our top athletes, hampered by the wind and the jelly fish, obtained at the National Triathlon Championships held earlier this month, the Malta Triathlon Association will be sending Dermot Galea and Keith Galea to participate in the Cyprus International Triathlon scheduled for this coming Sunday, in the hope that either or both athletes will dip below the 1hr. 56mins minimum qualifying time set by the Malta Olympic Committee as a passport to the Commonwealth Games.

There has been no let-up in training for the Galea brothers, who look set to achieve personal bests if not the actual elusive MQT.

Dermot Galea, who finished 25th out of 35 competitors in the same Games held in Manchester four years ago in a time of 2hrs.05m.45s, looks prepared to improve his time substantially.

With the exception of the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games offer the toughest line-up that one could possibly imagine when it comes to the sport of triathlon.

Reading the names of the top ten finishing athletes in the Manchester Commonwealth Games is like reading a who’s who of international triathletes.

New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and South Africa provide some of the world’s top triathletes, and our hopes are that, should our athletes qualify to participate, then they come back with a respectable time and a valuable experience which they can pass on to their peers here in Malta.

Dermot and Keith Galea’s participation in Cyprus has been made possible thanks to Emirates Airlines.