The Triathlon season kicked off in Salina on Sunday when the first race of the 2018 Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Sprint Triathlon Series took place.

First out of the water, following the 750m swim was Nikol Micallef (Mosta Tri Team), followed by Malcolm Vassallo (Mosta Tri Team), Margaret Seguna, Anjelika Ruggier and Darrel Schembri. 

A quick transition to the 20km bike segment followed.

Race favourite Michael Bongailas (Tri Gozo), made up for the gap created by Micallef and Vassallo in the swim to overtake them in this segment and head out first into the 5km run.  From then on Bongailas took off with Micallef trailing dangerously behind to give him a strong challenge.  Bongailas won the race in a time of 1hour 6 minutes 8 seconds, with Micallef following in second place seven seconds later. Malcolm Vassallo clocked in third place in 1 hour 7 minutes 21 seconds.

In the Ladies race, Margaret Seguna, the third athlete out of the water, took a comfortable lead on the bike segment and kept on a determined pace in the run to win in a time of 1 hour 10 minutes 10 seconds.  Second female to cross the finish line was Lara Buttigieg (Agones SFC) two minutes and thirty-eight seconds later.  Anjelika Ruggier was the third female to complete the podium in a time of 1.23.08.

The fastest segment splits were registered by Nikol Micallef (Swim), Mark Lewis (Bike) and Jesrit Camilleri (Birkirkara St. Joseph) - (Run).

Medals were presented to the winners immediately after the race.

The next race of the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Sprint Triathlon Series will take place on the Salina Coast Road on Sunday 8th July.

More information on the Club's racing calendar can be found on www.bkarastjoseph.com