Atheltics

The 14th Malta International Challenge Marathon got underway yesterday with the first stage in Mdina. A total of 123 runners were at the starting line near the Mdina Gardens for an 11.195km run. Denmark's Paul Greena was the first athlete home in 37.18...

The 14th Malta International Challenge Marathon got underway yesterday with the first stage in Mdina. A total of 123 runners were at the starting line near the Mdina Gardens for an 11.195km run.

Denmark's Paul Greena was the first athlete home in 37.18 minutes. 2003 champion David Mansbridge was second, eight seconds behind, with Malta's Jonathan Balzan placing third in 38.20.

Carmen Hili started her women's title defence in style, finishing first in 45.48. The St Patrick's athlete ran past the finish line ahead of England's Sarah Williams (46.16) and Vibeke Hansen of Denmark (46.34).

The second leg of this three-day running event is a 6km race in Birzebbuga today. Start is set for 10 a.m.

The Challenge marathon rounds up tomorrow with the final 25km stage from St Paul's Bay to Valletta.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.