Medcomms Ltd and the Malta Canoe Racing club teamed up for the Medcomms 5K and 200m sprints held in the Msida marina last Saturday.
The event was part of the “Paddle for the Planet” initiative which is aimed at uniting paddlers around the world for a one day global relay event between the 4th and 6th June 2011 in an effort to raise environmental awareness and give something back to our oceans.
The day started off with a 5k race around the Msida marina which saw an immediate sprint-off between Chris Camilleri, Simon Gauci and Gerald DeGaetano. Camilleri immediately took the lead and as the laps wore on, his lead distance increased even further. Simon and Gerald maintained second place for the first 200m however Gerald managed to fend his position by increasing the gap leaving Simon to up the ante with Nicki Borg Costanzi closing in.
The duo fought hard to take third place with their boat positions changing as the laps progressed however Borg Costanzi managed to increase the gap placing third with Simon coming in a close fourth. Mark Darmanin maintained his position of 5th place ahead of Karl Spiteri throughout the race.
Camilleri eventually crossed the finish line in 24”29 with Gerald finishing second in 25”32. Nicki finished in third place with a time of 27”11 followed by Simon Gauci who had a time of 30”52.
The next event was a 200m race for the juniors. This not only required strength to get the boat moving but it also tested their ability to maneuver the kayak since the course included a turn at the end of the 100m mark.
Samuel Borg sprinted to the lead with Kyle Zarb and Daniel Camilleri fighting for second place. Samuel maintained first position followed by Kyle and Daniel who placed third with times of 1”51, 1”56 and 1”57 respectively.
In the seniors 200m knock-out, athletes were paired with a partner to race down the narrow course.
First up were Nicki Borg Costanzi and Simon Gauci. Still reeling from his placing in the previous race, Gauci was determined not to be beaten a second time round, and what a point he made!
Taking the lead from the start, Gauci crossed the line in 47” with Nicki finishing in 49”. Camilleri and DeGaetano were up next for the start of an interesting race. Camilleri sprinted ahead with force with Gerald sprinting not far behind. Camilleri crossed the line in 39” whilst Gerald finished with a very respectable 45”.
Mark Darmanin and Karl Spiteri, both of whom were using a surf ski were up next.
Their boat of choice made the sprint even harder since they are generally used for open water rapids and are quite hard to pick up speed for a short sprint in relatively flat water. Both athletes gave the sprint their all with Karl finishing in 1min and Mark in 1”12.