It is said that the true test of a champion's character lies not in how he acts when successful but rather in how he reacts to a setback.

If that is the case, then Jonathan Balzan should not fear for his credentials. Faced by a similar mishap as the one that befell Balzan at the Malta Marathon, when he was accidentally led off course, other lesser athletes might have given up or at least reconsidered their career. For Balzan, however, that was not really an option.

"For a brief moment, I wanted to hang up my boots. I didn't know what had hit me and some comments hurt me. But I realised that I had to put it behind me as I'm not finished yet," he said.

The first indication of just how much he has to offer came at the Dingli 10 where Balzan not only won but also set a new PB of 54.44.

"It felt as if I was racing for the first time," he admitted afterwards.

Such was his dominance that the second-placed runner, Gerald Grech, came home almost four minutes behind Balzan. Richard Chetcuti, first Maltese home in the marathon, was third.

Another Malta Marathon winner, Marisa Muscat, had a more enjoyable time as she won the women's section of the race in Dingli.

"My ambitions were for 70 minutes but I was not feeling well on race day as I had an upset stomach," she said as a reaction to her 1.11.11 finish.

Results

Men: 1. J. Balzan (St Patrick's) 54.44; 2. G. Grech (Libertas) 58.37; 3. R. Chetcuti (Mellieħa) 59.15.

Women: 1. M. Muscat (St Patrick's) 1.11.11; 2. R. Galea (St Patrick's) 1.11.53; 3. C. Fenech (Żurrieq Wolves) 1.13.05.