Dermot Galea and Spiteri retain national titles

Dermot Galea and Danica Spiteri have retained their national titles after winning the ChooseMalta.com National Triathlon Championship held last Sunday at the Salina Coast Road. Both athletes dominated the local triathlon scene, with Spiteri claiming the championship title seven times since 1995 and Galea eight times since 1998.

Of the 57 athletes who took part in the two races the Malta Triathlon Association organised in collaboration with the Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club, 21 opted to do the Olympic Distance, which consisted of a 1,500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.

The Galea brothers, Dermot and Keith, put their stamp on the race from the beginning by emerging from the choppy seas in a time of 24 minutes. They were closely followed by Luke Bonnici, while Spiteri was fifth overall in 26m:39s.

In the bike segment, Bonnici produced the best cycle time of 1hr:03m:57s, with the Galea brothers just a few seconds behind.

In the women's race, Spiteri was overtaken by Briton Nicola Juniper, who completed her cycle in 1hr:10m:57s, while Michelle Wood also did a better time than Spiteri but failed to overhaul the latter.

The run determined the final classification with Dermot Galea coming first in in 2:05:43, followed a few seconds later by Keith who had to settle for a time of 2:07:49 after picking up a two-minute penalty for a drafting infringement during the cycle part.

In the meantime, Brian Magri produced the best run on the day to finish third in 2:08:12. Bonnici was fourth overall.

The women's race was won by Juniper in 2:20:03 as Spiteri managed to hang on to second place in a time of 2:34:19, despite the commendable effort of Wood who finished third overall, just a few seconds behind the national champion.

Third Maltese athlete was Johanna Calleja in 2:38:27.