A group of Maltese triathletes recently participated in the first Triathlon Sprint di Marzamemi in Sicily.

Falling under the Italian National Ranking System, the race consisted of a 750m swim, a 24km cycle and a 5km run.

Despite the unfavourable weather conditions, mostly the strong headwinds encountered during the cycling section of the race, Graham Borg, of Birkirkara St Joseph, and Pembroke Athleta’s Hannah Pace produced the best performances on the day to cross the line first in both categories.

The races took a similar pattern for both Maltese triathletes as they came out of the water close to the leading group of swimmers.

Once again, Borg and Pace showed their strong cycling abilities, pulling away from the group to open a leading gap.

Borg, seeking his first victory this season, went on to protect his lead in the run and finish first overall in a time of 1:04:23.

Pace also ran to reach the gantry ahead of her rivals. She was pleased with her victory, having just returned from an intensive training camp in France ahead of her race in the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.

Borg and Pace were not the only Maltese triathletes to leave their mark in Marzamemi as some of their fellow mates did well in their respective age groups.

Neil Markham (U-24) and Nina Zammit (U-20) were first and second in their age categories and in the race for Over-40s, Fabio Spiteri won the top prize with Claudia Zammit placing third.

This experience for the Maltese triathletes in Sicily was made possible thanks to the support and sponsorships of Cfragrances.com, Garmin Malta, Mochika Outdoor Life, MZ Investments and Wheel Wizard.

The athletes were also assisted by the Maltese Olympic Committee and the Malta Triathlon Federation.