Veteran Debono chalks up no.20 in Sweden

The 2011 Stockholm Marathon will remain indelible in Alfred Debono’s mind as the 42km race in the Swe-dish capital last week was the vete-ran runner’s 20th marathon in his 17-year career and the 26th race outside Maltese shores.

Debono, 62, returned from Scandinavia with another acco-lade under his belt after winning the over-60 age-group category, entering the gantry in Stockholm in a time of 3:07.03.

A total of 246 veteran athletes competed in the over-60 race. The Żurrieq Wolves AC runner placed 566th overall among 20,700 starters.

In his build-up to the Stockholm Marathon, Debono raced in the demanding Gozo half-marathon.

He completed that race in 1:29.06. Despite the undulating route, the time was Debono’s best over the distance in the last four years. In all, he has now completed 35 half-marathon runs.

Debono has been dominating veteran age-groups in the local scene for the past decade or so.

His remarkable feat in Sweden was not his first success abroad as last year, he finished first in the over-60 category at the Vienna Marathon in a time of 3:04.07.

In the Austrian capital, the field was 32,000 and Debono classified 317th overall.

Then, in autumn, he embarked on a daring venture in North America where he completed two marathons, in Chicago and New York, and two half marathons, in Torono and Niagara Falls, in a short span of four weeks.

Medcomms Ltd, local agents for Garmin, have again assisted Debono in his race in Stockholm.