Chris Camilleri has just competed in the 2010 Dubai Shamaal Race, placing 44th in his category out of a total of 170 kayakers.

In a statement, the Malta Canoe Federation said Camilleri’s result was indeed prestigious.

The race was held over an L-shaped route starting off from some 20km from Palm Island and heading out to a 4km offshore marker before a 120-degree turn to a further 20km along the coast.

Being his first experience in a Surski race, Camilleri started cautiously keeping a sure but steady pace up to the first marker. At that point, it was total mayhem with tens of kayakers converging at the mark and many losing balance.

Camilleri kept his cool and steered out of trouble, completing the distance in 2hr 15min, averaging just over 10kph. His strong finish saw him beat a number of more fancied kayakers, placing Malta 15th out of 26 nations, beating representatives from the Netherlands, US and Spain to mention a few.

This was the last race of what was a long season for Camilleri that started off in July with the Sicilian Regional Championships where he set a national record in the 1km event. After a short break, he will start his off-season training ahead of what promises to be another exciting competitive year, the federation said.