Dermot Galea third in UK middle distance race

Birkirkara St Joseph's Dermot Galea placed third in the recently held Marazion (Hayle) Middle Distance Triathlon, in Cornwall, England.

The distances triathletes have to cover in this event were 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and a 21.1km run.

Unfortunately the swim course was not well marked, causing Galea and some other participants to lose valuable time. This mishap, however, did not tarnish Galea's morale even though he finished his swim in 33 minutes, around three minutes off the target time. Before the bike segment, Galea was fifth.

Five kilometres into the cycle, he suffered mechanical problems but was quickly back in the race even though he had now slipped to ninth place.

Keeping his cool, notwithstanding the bad luck, Galea decided to stick to his pace and eventually regained some places after completing the cycle in two hours 37 minutes.

It was at this stage that Galea unleashed his real power. His bike to run transition was the quickest he could do and after topping his food intake he blasted off.

After the first lap of three, Galea was looking strong and realised that a fast time was within his reach. By the second lap, he had moved to fourth and with three kilometres to go he overtook another competitor.

He finished the race in four hours 40 minutes overall, a remarkable result considering there were also UK age-group long distance runners taking part.

Galea thanked his friends in the UK for their assistance and sponsors Starbene, Diadora, Valdora, Profile-Design, Ironman Active Wear, Powercranks and the MFA Pool.