On the day she was crowned Sportswoman of the Year for her feats both locally and internationally in 2010, Danica Bonello Spiteri secured her second consecutive Duathlon Championship, organised by the Malta Triathlon Association at the Salina Coast Road.

The St Patrick athlete, however, hardly had it her own way and was only declared champion after her club-mate and nearest rival, Marica Micallef, was handed a two-minute penalty due to a drafting infringement.

Bonello Spiteri’s winning time was 1hr 33mins 24secs with Micallef a close second. Donatelle Callus was third in 1:35.41.

In the men’s category, Fabio Spiteri (St Patrick’s) and Mark Zammit (Pembroke Athleta) were locked in a head-to-head duel throughout the race. It was only resolved in the final sprint when Spiteri edged the younger athlete into second place, winning the championship by such a narrow gap that time-keepers gave the same finish time to both athletes... 1hr 15mins 17secs. Birkirkara St Joseph’s Keith Galea was third in 1:17.36.

Thirty-seven individual athletes and six relay teams took part in the National Duathlon Championship which was held over the following distances: First run – 5km; Cycle – 30km; Second run – 3km.

The women’s seniors race was won by Suzanne Farrugia (Birkirkara St Joseph) in 1:45.16 while her male counterpart, Kevin Muscat, finished in 1:22.38. The relay team event was won by Matthew Cassar (runner) and Patrick Scicluna (cyclist) in 1hr 15mins 52secs.

The Malta Triathlon Association was assisted by Birkirkara St Joseph SC and Joseph F. Spiteri & Co (1927) Ltd, agents for Kee Klamp. The race was sponsored by Kristal Water.