Steely determination serves Galea well in Ironman bid

One of the main hurdles for triathlon in its attempt to get established as a mainstream sport is that for the casual athlete it appears to be so tough.

Many feel that they could swim 1.5 kilometres, cycle 40 kilometres or run a distance of 10 kilometres. But, combining the three together for what forms part of the Olympic distance triathlon simply seems too much.

For some established tri-athletes, however, those distances look trivial so much so that they feel the urge for something more challenging... the Ironman.

Rarely has a sporting event been more deserving of its title, what with a 3.8 kilometre swim, a bike ride of 180 kilometres and then a full marathon of 42.195 kilometres.

"That's a good one!" exclaims Dermot Galea when I suggested to him that the Ironman seems like a rather masochistic sports endeavour.

This weekend, the many-time Malta champion will be on the starting line of the Ironman Switzerland looking for "a good result".

On the face of it, finishing would seem like an excellent achievement.

"When you find that you are good at something you do your utmost to get better," he explains.

"Training for longer distances forces you to reflect and determine your limits. When you're training for seven hours a day you find out what you're really made of."

Such a training regime is no surprise (or exaggeration) when you're expected to put in several hours of continuous cycling in competition.

For Galea, preparations were made all the more difficult due to the fact that "I had to complete my studies, train for the Ironman and work part-time to get the money needed to compete.

"It will cost me Lm1,000 just to be there. I haven't got any financial assistance so I've had to save for this by working in the evening," Galea added.

Galea discovered that he was good at longer distances almost by chance.

"Last year, I took part in a middle distance triathlon and found it very tough. However, without any specific training, I managed to finish fourth and realised that longer distance triathlons suit my style better."

A recent win in a middle distance triathlon (roughly half the Ironman distances) held in Malta confirmed that belief.

"I was very happy," he said.

"My splits on the bike and during the run were very good. But an Ironman means double the distances and that's another story."

Training for the Ironman forced Galea to miss the recent Triathlon Championships for the Small States of Europe.

"I'm in the final year of University so I wanted to focus on my studies as well. It was a difficult decision but the championships will be held again next year... bad results at the university would stay with me forever," he reckoned.

But, a good result tomorrow would confirm that he made the right choice. Regardless of what he does, however, Galea seems determined to continue focusing on such distances.

"My dream is to qualify for the World Championships," he said.

"I don't think that I'll manage that in my first try but I'm confident that within a couple of years I'll reach my goal."