National triathlon champions Dermot Galea and Danica Spiteri had to take a back seat in the third race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series as Keith Galea and Donatelle Callus took the limelight in a highly contested event.
The inclement weather conditions prevailing last Sunday were a tough hurdle for the triathletes to overcome.
In the males’ race Dermot Galea and Keith Galea took an early lead. The champion finished the 750 metre race in 12 minutes 25 seconds, five seconds in front of Keith. Luke Bonnici was third out of the water in 13 minutes 41 seconds.
Both Galeas powered relentlessly in the 20 kilometre bike segment opening an insurmountable gap over the rest of the field. Dermot was first out of transition area after a 30 minutes 50 seconds cycle.
Keith followed just three seconds later. Luke Bonnici managed to hold on to third place with a 32 minutes 22 seconds cycle.
At this stage the race took an exciting turn as midway through the 5 kilometre run Keith Galea went into the lead for the first time, increasing the gap with virtually every stride. Dermot’s reaction was a weak one, enough for Keith to celebrate his memorable victory way before the finish line.
His one hour, one minute, 24 seconds were also a personal best. Dermot finished in one hour, one minute, 41 seconds. National team triathlete Brian Magri, running a16 minutes 54 seconds 5 kilometres, overtook Luke Bonnici to finish third in one hour, five minutes, nine seconds.
The females’ race also proved to be a very interesting duel. Champion Danica Spiteri took a very early lead with a 750 metre swim in 14 minutes 42 seconds. Ex-champion Isabelle Zarb was second in 15 minutes 31 seconds, 12 seconds ahead of Johanna Calleja.
In the 20 kilometre bike segment, Donatelle Callus worked herself up from fourth place to take the lead with a brilliant 34 minutes 54 seconds cycle, outpacing the champion by almost 2 minutes.
At this stage of the race Michelle Wood was placed third after cycling the distance in 38 minutes 12 seconds. In the final five kilometre run champion Spiteri threw in the towel, as Donatelle Callus ran her heart out towards her finest moment in the sport, a victory in one hour, 13 minutes, 15 seconds running the 5 kilometres in 22 minutes 11 seconds. Danica Spiteri, with her below par performance, finished second in one hour, 15 minutes, 3 seconds. Johanna Calleja’s run in 22 minutes 41 seconds, placed her third with an overall time of one hour, 17 minutes, 27 seconds.
The race was held under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Association and sponsored by Red Bull. The fourth and final race in this series will be held on the 30 September starting at 7.30am at Salina Bay.