Rough seas and strong headwinds were part of the race package at the Garmin Malta 113K National Long Distance Championships in Birżebbuġa last weekend.
Fabio Spiteri (Agones SFC) and Margaret Seguna (Mellieħa AC) were crowned national champions in what was a hotly-contested race fought out among a strong field that doubled in entry compared to the previous year.
Slovenia contender Jaroslav Kovacic, racing for the first time in Malta, underlined his dominance from the very start by exiting the water after 23 minutes and 35 seconds.
He maintained a significant gap over the chasing pack for the rest of the race.
Second in the swim segment was Birkirkara St Joseph’s Graham Borg (26.06) ahead of Italian Emiliano Cucci (27.44).
The cycle leg provided a better indication as to who would finish in the top positions with Kovacic and Cucci leading the field.
Spiteri’s strength on the bike was evident as he moved up to third place. While David Galea had the best run among the top three Maltese finishers, it was not enough for him to secure a podium place.
Kovacic secured the title in an overall time of 4:03.54, setting a course record in the process.
Second place went to Italian Under-23 Cucci who entered the gantry in 4:21.22.
Spiteri was third to claim the national title in 4:28.36.
‘Challenging race’
“It was great racing in Malta,” Kovacic said.
“The weather conditions were not easy and the bike route was very challenging but I am happy to have reached my target time.
“Malta has good potential and I hope to get some other Slovenian triathletes to race here and do some training as well.”
In the local classification, Spiteri was followed by Birkirkara SJ’s Rudolph Agius who clocked four hours and 33 seconds. Galea, the 2014 national champion, was third, two seconds adrift of Agius, albeit his time showed an improvement of 49 seconds from last year.
In the women’s race, Seguna claimed her first national title after edging Birkirkara SJ’s Michelle Vella Wood.
In the run, Seguna reclaimed first place from Vella Wood, who is preparing for this year’s European Games, to cross the line in 5:02.26.
Donatelle Camilleri was third.
The age-group categories were won by Kelvin Goodwin (Over-40) while Suzanne Farrugia and Jude Zammit took the Over-50 titles.
The 24 teams that took part in the relay featured some of the country’s best athletes who teamed up for the triathlon championships.
The team made up of Neil Markham (swim), Wayne Spiteri (cycle) and Joe Pace (run) took top spot in a combined 4:20.04.
Shaun Galea (swim), Mark Bonnici (cycle), Kevin Zammit (run) were second ahead of Nicol Cremona (swim) Joseph Cremona (cycle) and Michael Gellel (run).
The Garmin Malta 113k Triathlon was contested by local triathletes as well as those from Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom.
In a statement, the organisers said they are grateful for the logistical assistance provided by Agones SFC, Malta Cycling Federation, Mellieħa Athletic Club and Mosta Cycling Club along with a group of volunteers who helped out on the day.
The event, sanctioned by the Malta Triathlon Federation, was also supported by Garmin, The Cyclist, Urban Jungle, Malta Tourism Authority, Mochika, Ecco, emvigee pr, Al Fresco, Go&Fun, Leap Nutrition, Green Trade and Wall’s.