It was a battle to the end during the Virtu Ferries Manoel Island 10K organised recently by the Malta Canoe Federation.

Reigning champion Gerald DeGaetano, who bravely opted to use his old-time friend, the Espada, crossed the finish line first, holding on to the gold with a time of 46’41”.

Up-and-coming paddler Matt-hew Schembri was second and Simon Gauci (50’45”) third.

Nicola Borg Costanzi was first in the women’s race in 49’51”, ahead of Iveta Leo in 59’31”.

The 200m sprints for children were the next event of the day.

The U-12 race saw siblings Nicholas and Benji Farrugia paddling strongly for first place.

In the end, Nicholas Farrugia pushed ahead, crossing the line in 1’18”. Benji Farrugia was two seconds slower and Kyle Zarb 1’22” behind. Jake Attard, the youngest competitor, was fourth.

In the U-15s, the main prota-gonists were Luke Camilleri, Mic-hael Aquilina and Benji Sammut.

Camilleri won it in 1’32” followed by Aquilina and Sammut.

The most anticipated race of the day was the team 3K race where six teams lined up at the start line.

The start was chaotic, however, as Schembri (Team Alpine) and DeGaetano (Team Demon) were again fighting to get their team the top points. Close behind were Joe Cremona (Team Honey) and Gauci (Team Piece of Cake).

Schembri finally pipped DeGaetano to the post, crossing the line first in 16’20”.

After all times were taken into consideration, first place was awarded to Julian Mamo, Pierre Chircop and Cremona, the Team Honey combination.

Team Demon, consisting of Schembri, Alex Rizzo and DeGaetano, were second ahead of the all-girl trio of Flower Power (Borg Costanzi, Kata Pongracz and Petra Zammit).

The next event on the federation’s calendar is the National Championship later this month.