Ricky Garzia and Angela Galea virtually raced against time in the third stage of the Birkirkara St. Joseph Open Water Swimming Series held at Qawra on Wednesday.

Forty-six swimmers started the two-kilometre race in perfect sea conditions.

Garzia immediately pulled away from the leading group with a powerful performance. He swam around the four 500 metres laps in 26 minutes 52 seconds to finish the race with a huge 3 minutes 10 seconds lead on second placed Mark Zammit. Keith Galea finished third in 30 minutes 18 seconds.

In the women’s race, Angela Galea’s performance was as impressive as her male counterpart. She finished the 2,000 metres in 30 minutes 3 seconds, ahead of Isabelle Zarb who finished in 33 minutes 45 seconds. The race for third place was a close one between Michelle Wood and Danica Spiteri. However the former touched the finish buoy one second ahead to win in 34 minutes 50 seconds.

The fourth race in this Series will be held on Wednesday, 22 July.