Galea, Callus take centre stage in third race

National triathlon champions Dermot Galea and Danica Spiteri were forced to take a back seat in the third race of the Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series as Keith Galea and Donatelle Callus took the limelight in a highly-contested event.

In the men's race, Dermot and Keith Galea took an early lead.

The champion finished the 750-metre race in 12 minutes 25 seconds, five seconds in front of Keith. Luke Bonnici was third out of the water in 13 minutes 41 seconds. The two Galeas powered on relentlessly in the 20-kilometre bike segment, opening a huge gap over their rivals.

Dermot was first out of the transition area after a 30 minutes 50 seconds cycle. Keith followed just three seconds later. Bonnici managed to hold on to third place when clocking 32 minutes 22 seconds.

Midway through the five-kilometre run, Keith Galea went ahead for the first time, increasing the gap with virtually every stride. Dermot's reaction was a weak one as the unrelenting Keith was able to celebrate his memorable victory way before the finish line.

The overall time of one hour, one minute, 24 seconds was also a personal best for the winner. Dermot finished in 1:01.41.

National team triathlete Brian Magri, who completed the 5-km run in 16 minutes 54 seconds, overtook Bonnici to finish third in one hour, five minutes, nine seconds.

The females' race also produced a very interesting duel. Spiteri took an early lead with a time of 14 minutes 42 seconds in the 750-metre swim.

Ex-champion Isabelle Zarb was second in 15 minutes 31 seconds, 12 seconds, ahead of Johanna Calleja. In the 20-kilometre bike segment, Callus moved from fourth to first place with a brilliant 34 minutes 54 seconds cycle, outpacing the champion by almost two minutes.

At this stage, Michelle Wood was third after cycling the distance in 38 minutes 12 seconds. In the final five-kilometre run, Spiteri threw in the towel as the gritty Callus enjoyed her finest moment in the sport, winning in one hour, 13 minutes, 15 seconds. She ran the five kilometres in 22 minutes 11 seconds.

Spiteri finished second in one hour, 15 minutes, 3 seconds. Calleja's run of 22 minutes 41 seconds placed her third with an overall time of one hour, 17 minutes, 27 seconds.

The race was sponsored by Red Bull. The fourth and final event in this series will be held on Sep. 30 at Salina Bay.