Malta’s Middle-Distance Triathlon race came and went without a hitch last Sunday 27th May, thanks to the impeccable planning of the organisers, Ironman athlete Charles Demanuele, the Malta Triathlon Organisation and B’Kara St Joseph. It was a day that surely all participants will remember, with every finisher completing the tough course ending up a winner.

Fourteen athletes attempted the full distance while 8 teams took part in the relay. The race started with a 1.9 km sea swim which saw Dermot Galea, first athlete out of the water, post an excellent time of 29:56.

The end of the swim signaled the start of a 90km cycle, with six-and-a half laps from the Freeport to the Airport VIP entrance.

Here it was Ramon Grech, the cyclist from one of the relay teams, that tripped the clock at 02:23:13. The cycle was followed by a half-marathon, 21 km over 4 laps from the Al Fresco restaurant to the Freeport entrance, in temperatures that were getting higher and higher. The best time here was posted by Stephen Borg, the runner from another relay team, with an elapsed time of 01:16:40.

Unsurprisingly, Dermot Galea once again demonstrated his absolute dominance of the sport and was the winner amongst the athletes undergoing the full distance, with an overall time of 04:28:39. Galea is participating in Ironman Switzerland next month, so this race was a great dress rehearsal for this even more arduous event. Not far behind him was Michael Gellel also with an excellent time of 04:48:21, while Fabio Spiteri was third with 04:58:42. The first Senior was William Brydon, also in the final stages of preparation for Ironman Austria, with a time of 05:27:30.

Donatelle Callus was the only female amongst the participants undertaking the full distance and finished with a time of 05:46:57, despite this being her first triathlon. This makes her the first Maltese female athlete to complete a middle-distance race.

The first Relay team, composed of swimmer Chris Lautier, cyclist Jackie Schiavone and runner Adrian Mifsud finished in an overall time of 04:21:37.

The race would definitely not have been possible without the support of Urban Jungle, Ultimate Nutrition, Alf Mizzi and Sons, George Barthet Ltd, Better Living, B’Kara St Joseph as well as Mark Bugeja of Al Fresco Restaurant.