A Maltese athlete has set a new national record for the Ironman challenge after beating the previous record set by himself...18 years ago.

David Galea, 44, has just returned to the island today after completing the Ironman Barcelona on Sunday and setting the national record at 9 hours 10 minutes.

He formed part of a team of nine Maltese athletes who undertook the challenge.
Back in 1997, he had set a national record after completing the gruelling triathlon at 9 hours 28 minutes. His timing remained unbeaten by subsequent Maltese athletes.

The challenge involved a 3.8-kilometre swim in the Mediterranean Sea that started and finished at the beach of Calella. This was followed by a 180-kilometre bike ride inland on closed roads and culminated in 42-kilometre run along the coast to a turnaround at Santa Susanna.

“After all the sacrifices, it was truly worth it,” Mr Galea told this newspaper.
“The biggest challenge in a way was my age – but it goes to show that with dedicated training, it is possible to actually improve,” he said, adding that he spent the past year working towards the completing Ironman.

He explained how the run proved to be the toughest part of the challenge, adding that that was when the fatigue started to eventually set in.
He thanked his sponsors, including Neo Ħamrun, Festool and The Cyclist.

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