Galea continues 2012 quest as Magri secures London podium

Keith Galea and Brian Magri continued to register excellent results outside Maltese shores this summer.

At great personal sacrifice, Galea is currently in the UK where he is training professionally in order to achieve his dream of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.

This is no easy matter since qualification depends on him taking part in high-profile races which can earn him ranking points for the Summer Games.

In the meantime, his participation in triathlon races have produced some encouraging results.

On August 1, he took part in the Blithfield Olympic Triathlon where he finished 14th overall and third in his age group (20-24).

This result was good enough for him to qualify him for the Triathlon World Championship in Budapest on September 12.

On August 15, Galea also took part in the British Championship which was held in Bedford. Here, he managed a creditable 30th overall from a strong field of over 600 participants. He placed sixth in his age group.

A week later, Galea finished second overall and age group winner in the Nottingham Sprint Triathlon in a time of 1hr:01m:06s – a race where the second spot on the podium was so highly contested that himself and another athlete were both given the same time.

Galea, however, was deemed to have crossed the finish line just ahead of his direct rival who eventually had to settle for third place.

Meanwhile, following his 41st placing at the London Triathlon, Magri went on to take part in the Sprint Triathlon held at the same venue a week later.

With over 1,400 participants setting off at different times according to their varying age groups, the evergreen Magri defied the odds by finishing runner-up in an accumulated time of 1hr:10m:03s.

BSJ series

The third race in this year’s Birkirkara St Joseph Triathlon Series will be held on Sunday morning at the Salina-Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq Coast Road circuit.

The sprint triathlon is contested over a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre cycle and a five-kilometre run.

This BSJ series is held under the auspices of the Malta Triathlon Association and points gained from these events will count for the annual Triathlete of the Year Award.

At the end of the main event on Sunday, the club will be holding another race over shorter distances – a 200-metre swim, a 13-kilometre cycle and a two-kilometre run.

This event, the Super Sprint Triathlon, starts at 9.15 a.m.