The second race in the Birkirkara St. Joseph Triathlon Series was a memorable event. It was held in perfect weather, ideal for the sport of triathlon. Against this perfect backdrop and a transition area colourfully set up to catch the mood, personal best performances by the participating triathletes was the order of the day.
Keith Galea and Malta champion Danica Spiteri, won their respective events on a day when triathlon was at its competitive best.
Galea pushed from the gun in the 750-metre swim. Hard on his heels was Luke Bonnici, trailing Galea into first transition by 25 seconds in a time of 11 minutes 42 seconds. Third out of the water was Cliff Sultana, making a solid comeback after months recovering from an injury. Galea went on to register the best bike segment, cycling the 20 kilometres in 31 minutes 24 seconds. Bonnici kept up the momentum although he lost vital seconds.
At this stage national team triathlete Brian Magri and Fabio Spiteri joined the fray, for the final battle in the 5 kilometre run.
Magri turned on the best performance in this segment, to place himself second, seriously challenging leader Galea. Luke Bonnici resisted Spiteri’s onslaught, notwithstanding the latter’s 18 minutes 45 seconds 5 kilometre run, which relegated hard working Sultana to fifth. Galea’s time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 25 seconds was 33 seconds better than Magri’s in second place. Luke Bonnici finished third in 1 hour 2 minutes 51 seconds.
In the females’ race, things were slightly easier for triathlon queen Danica Spiteri, who, although not at her best physical condition, finished in one hour, 10 minutes 23 seconds.
Her winning margin was seriously reduced by rookie Donatelle Callus who managed one hour 11 minutes 50 seconds. Series title holder Michelle Wood finished third. S
This race was organised by Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Association and sponsored by Red Bull. The third race in this series will be held on Sunday 2 September at Salina Bay starting at 7.30am.
Birkirkara SJ triathletes in Austria
Birkirkara St. Joseph triathletes Mario Bugeja and William Brydon took part in Ironman Austria on Sunday.
The race consisted of a 3.8 K swim, 180 K bike and a 42 K run. Brydon finished the race in 12 hours 18 minutes 10 seconds (Swim 1:00:37; Bike 6:29:45; Run 4:45:19), while Bugeja finished in 13 hours 36 minutes 55 seconds (Swim 1:07:32; Bike 7:07:44; Run 5:03:06).