Camilleri raises the bar in Portugal

Maltese sprint canoeist Christopher Camilleri recently had a two-week training camp at the Nelo Training Centre in Oliveira do Douro - Cinfaes, Portugal as part of his preparations for the Mediterranean Games.

Camilleri focused on improving his times in 500m, 1,000m and 2,000m sprints while getting reacquainted with racing conditions. While training in fresh water, the boat sits lower in the water, making it inherently slower and harder to paddle through than at sea.

Camilleri was training up to four times a day, and his sessions not only included kayaking but also running and intensive gym sessions.

Under the guidance of his Hungarian coach Tibor Virag, his goals were met as his times improved to 1:48 mins for 500m, 3:53 mins for 1,000m and 8:29 mins for 2,000m.

Camilleri was pleased with the outcome of the training camp.

"I believe that the objective of this training camp has been achieved successfully since we are now working on speed work and this resulted in personal best times on all three distances, especially those forming part of the Med. Games competitions - 500m and 1,000m," Camilleri said in a statement issued by the Malta Canoe Federation.