Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/188841
26 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2013 TRIATHLON Galea, Vella Wood, crowned National Triathlon Champions OVER 80 athletes took part in today's BBB-Buff Malta National Championships, racing in either the Standard (1.5k swim, 40k cycle, 10k run) or the Sprint Distance (750m swim, 20k cycle and 5k run). The race, which took place in adverse weather conditions, saw current National Champion Keith Galea retain his crown and National Duathlon Champion Michelle Vella Wood crowned new female National Triathlon Champion, breaking Danica Bonello Spiteri's sever year unbeaten reign. Galea won his third National Title, retaining his crown for the second year running winning the race in a time of 2:03:20. Leading from the word go, Galea suffered what could have been a major setback due to a puncture in the cycle leg. This however did not adversely affect Galea's performance even though he had to stop and change tyre in transition. Galea kept the lead and won comfortably with a four minute advancte over second placed Fabio Spirteri who clocked in an overall time of 2:06:17. Third place was secured by veteran David Galea who was fresh from his Age Group win in the Vulcano Standard Distance Triathlon in Sicily last weekend. In the females' category, Danica Bonello Spiteri had a fine showing in the swim, coming out of the water a good 20 seconds before contendors Michell Vella Wood and Hannah Pace, but Vella Wood started to narrow the gap in the bike segment and over taking Bonello Spiteri in the run to win the title in 2:11:44. Vella Wood's win today showed her consistency in her performance throughout the season which saw her also clinch the National Duathlon Championships and the B'Kara St. Joseph Sprint Series. Bonello Spiteri crossed the finish line after 2:14:52 securing second place. U23 Triathlete Hannah Pace had a fine showing clocking 2:17:39 a securing a podium finish in what was her third Standard Distance race of her triathlon career. In the Sprint category, the males' podium saw newcomer Wayne Spiteri win his first race clocking a time of 1:04:51. Graham Borg, who was also still fresh from a successful showing in the Vulcano Standard Distance in Scily, came in second place in 1:07:13 despite suffering a nasty fall due to the wet slippery roads. Mark Micallef came in third place in 1:09:31. Michelle Scott from Great Britain, pipped Denise Buttigieg to first place in the Female Sprint category with only a two second difference in what was a very closely fought battle. Margaret Seguna, returning to triathlon after an injury came in third place in 1:21:11 thus ending her season on a very good note. "As predicted the National Championships did not disappoint. From a participation level we had a record number of entries, from an athletic perspective we have seen a number of personal best times being registered and spectators were given the opportunity to watch some high level triathlon" said Cyprian Dalli, President of the Malta Triathlon Federation. "The National Championships are the culmination of the season of which we are satisfied with on many fronts. We hope that the growth our sport has enjoyed this season will continue to grow as the Federation now starts gearing up for the forthcoming season" The Prize Giving ceremony took place immediately after the race and carried out by Mr. Mario Micallef, Director of Sports Malta Olympic Committee and Dr Stefan Buontempo, Parliamentary Secretary for Research & Innovation, Youth and Sports. The Malta Triathlon Federation is greatly indebted to its partners and sponsors without which help the organisation of such events would not be possible - BBB Bike Parts, www. buffmalta.com, Garmin Malta, MZ (Marketing) Ltd, Flora Pro Active, Western Union Business Solutions, Pringles, Attard Bros, B'Kara St. Joseph Sports Club, Go&Fun, The Cyclist. CRICKET FORMULA 1 Marsa too strong for Fiddlers Vettel dominance negative - Hamilton ON Saturday the first game of three was played between Marsa C.C and Fiddlers C.C who are on their seventh tour, the first being in 1992 and their previous tour in 2006. The home team batted first and were bowled out for a mere 159 runs from their overs. Had it not been for a brilliant entertaining innings from Haroon Majeed who rode his luck, making fifty two runs which included two sixes and three fours, the score would have been a lot worse. The Fiddlers helped the Marsa team with twenty three extras. The Marsa top order of John Grima (thirteen runs), Andrew Naudi (fourteen runs) and Tony Azzopardi (twenty five runs) all had starts and did not captilize. Only Bikram Arora made it into double figures from the lower order of batsmen making twelve runs. The Marsa batting has not been too good over the past week. For the Fiddlers N.Haines was the main problem for the lower order taking three wickets, L.Beard and M.Baglow took two wickets each, S.Jessup and M.Salmon took a wicket each and there was a run out.159 to defend was going to be a daunting task for the Marsa bowlers. M.Baglow opened the batting and had his team heading in the right direction with thirty one runs, P.Langford was the top scorer with thirty two runs in the middle order and David Woodworth twenty five runs , which had their team needing ten runs for victory of the last over. Bikram Arora who already had Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton Fiddlers C.C. the Fiddlers fiddling bowled the last over and only gave away two runs as well as claiming his fourth wicket for the game. Haroon Majeed, Shaz Narwaz and Gordon Hewitt took a wicket each in the victory. The Marsa team win the first game. On Sunday the game was reduced to a thirty over game. The hosts batted first with two of the finest batsmen making runs. Frank Spiteri making sixty one runs which included four fours and a six and Bikram Arora making a fiery forty seven which included three fours and three sixes. The home team made 148 runs. For the visitors N.Haines again proved himself the better bowler and took four wickets, L.Beard and David Woodworth took two each while M.Baglow and M.Salmon took a wicket each. The Fiddlers could only make 126 from their overs with J.Hewiit (twenty six runs) and S.Jessup (twenty four runs) were the main contributors. Arora again was a headache and took three wickets while Sumair Khan and Sarfraz Ali took two each. Ronnie Sacco chipped in with one. With the win the Marsa team have an unassailable lead in the series and will be looking for a whitewash on Wednesday. Next Saturday the Marsa C.C host another mini series, this time with Romany C.C (second tour) and Washington C.C (fifth tour). The Sunoco Cricket academy will be from 9:00 till 10:30am. LEWIS Hamilton reckons Sebastian Vettel's current level of dominance is a negative for the sport, the Mercedes driver stating that he "feels for the fans" after his Red Bull rival stormed to a fourth consecutive victory at the Korean Grand Prix. Red Bull driver Vettel now holds a 77-point advantage over Fernando Alonso in the standings, meaning he can theoretically notch up his fourth world title in Japan. And with the title "won already" in Hamilton's eyes, the Briton says those behind television screens are suffering due to Vettel's frequent commanding victories. "He has won already, unless he doesn't finish the rest of the races. Even if he doesn't he has probably still won it," Hamilton said of the title race. "Personally, I feel for the fans because I remember the period of time when Michael Schumacher was winning. "I remember waking up in the morning to watch the start of the race and then going to sleep, and waking up when it ended because I already knew what would happen. I am pretty sure a lot of people were doing that [on Sunday], at least in my family." Hamilton, who finished fifth in Korea, added his frustration at being unable to fight for victories, arguing that he and Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso are "of a higher calibre". "It's strange," explained Hamilton, who was fended off by Sauber's Nico Hülkenberg. "Me and Fernando in fifth and sixth at the end, and having our own little race, we are of a higher calibre than that. We should be further ahead, and fighting with the World Champions at the front, and Sebastian. I guess that shows where the sport is today."