The top three swimmers in the Birkirkara SJ Open Water Championships race for men at St Paul’s Bay.The top three swimmers in the Birkirkara SJ Open Water Championships race for men at St Paul’s Bay.

In a race that had already been postponed once due to inclement weather, sea conditions were far from perfect when over 100 swimmers braved the tough conditions to undertake the second leg from the Birkirkara St Joseph Open Water Swimming Cham-pionships, held recently at Ta’ Xama, St Paul’s Bay.

With a race marked with slower than usual times for most of the contenders, Luke Camilleri Cuschieri, winner of the previous race, showed his true mettle.

Not only did he win the second race of the series but he also registered an improvement of five seconds to his finish time when clocking 28 minutes and 22 seconds.

Richard Zerafa, third in the opening race from the series, moved up one notch to secure the runner-up spot with a time of 29 minutes and 51 seconds.

Graham Borg, fresh from his recent Garmin Barcelona Triathlon participation at pro level, clocked in third with a time of 30 minutes and 20 seconds.

The top step in the women’s podium was filled by Hannah Pace who covered the choppy course at Ta’ Xama in 30 minutes and 28 seconds.

Championship newcomer, Leah Satariano, swam the distance in 34 minutes and 31 seconds to secure the second place ahead of veteran Isabelle Zarb, third in 37 minutes and 14 seconds.

It was confirmed that the fourth race from the series will be held on July 15.

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