Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/212250
54 Sport maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2013 TRIATHLON Malta Triathlon Federation closes off 2013 season with a bang WHILST the official Malta Triathlon season ended with the National Championships in October, athletes' enthusiasm to keep on racing did not wane and an offseason Duathlon was recently held with the support of SmartCity Malta. The race which consisted of a 5km run, an 18km cycle and a 2.5k run was held in the SmartCity Malta premises and environs. The cycle route proved to be a challenging route due to its technical nature and held in an area which is quite undulating. Whilst some familiar faces from the Triathlon scene were missing either due to injury or in their recovery period, turnout was high especially since this was an off season race. With current Triathlon Champion Keith Galea and National Duathlon Champion Fabio Spiteri not competing, the men's race was dominated from the start by the Galea brothers, David and Johann. David has recently returned to Triathlon and has kept the fine form he showed in the past. The Galeas were followed closely by former National Champion and National Coach Dermot Galea, fresh from his Ironman World Championship experience in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The pace was kept consistently throughout all segments of the race, with David and Johann Galea coming in joint first in 58minutes 19 seconds. Dermot Galea came in third place in 59 minutes 41 seconds. The women's race was dominated by young Hannah Pace who was the first female in all the three segments of the race. In the first 5k run, second in was Margaret Seguna who is returning to her fine form after a major setback, earlier on this year, put her racing targets on hold. Current National Champion Michelle Vella Wood, caught up on the bike and in the second run finishing in second place after Hannah Pace in 1 hour 5 minutes and 46 seconds. Margaret Seguna came in third place thirty six seconds after Vella Wood. The first relay team to cross the Finish line was made up of Shayan Sheik who undertook the running segments and Matthew Spiteri who completed the cycle leg. The Duo finished the race in 1 hour 5 mins and 56 seconds. As part of the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy programme races were held for young athletes undertaking the Academy program, however activity was also open to budding triathletes who do not attend the Academy. The programme kicked off with a fun-run for toddlers followed by the Kids 6 – 10 Category which was won by Pavel Dalli. Matthew Camilleri won the Youth 11-13 Category, whilst the Junior 14 -16 Category was well fought out and eventually won by Matthaeus Sciberras. "2013 racing season is now well and truly over. We are very pleased with the feedback and input received from our athletes as well as partners. Of course there is always room for improvement and this is what the Federation al- ways strives towards. We are also very pleased with the participation in the first ever Youth Academy, of which most participants took part this morning. It was also encouraging to see a number of youths from Gozo coming over to take part and enjoy the fun. " said Cyprian Dalli , President of the Malta Triathlon Federation. "Of course this would not be possible without the assistance of organisations such as SmartCity Malta, who invest in our efforts and support us as they did today. Their help enables us to keep on providing quality races for our athletes. We are also deeply indebted to the Kunsill Malti Ghall-Isport and the European Triathlon Union for the support they have provided for the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy (MYTA) which is helping us build the future of Triathlon in Malta.~ The event closed off with the presentation of trophies for the race winners, which were presented by Mr. Nicholas Schembri, Business Development Manager, SmartCity Malta as well as the winners in the various categories of the Triathlete of the Year Award which aims to reward athletes not only for their performance but also their commitment to take part in local races. The winners of this year's Triathlete of the Year Award were Fabio Spiteri and Michelle Vella Wood. This year the Malta Triathlon Federation decided to reward more athletes and thus awarded the first five athletes in each category (Male & Female) as well as winners for Over 35, Over 40, Over 45, Over 50 and Over 50 Age Groups. TENNIS Davis Cup - Czech Republic lead after doubles rubber CZECH Republic took an important step towards back-to-back Davis Cup titles after they secured Saturday's doubles rubber to move 2-1 ahead in the final against Serbia. Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych needed only three sets to beat Iliya Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7/4) and quieten the Belgrade fans. Stepanek was particularly impressive and fittingly rounded out the match when Zimonjic - a former world number one ranked doubles player - was unable to return a heavy serve down the middle. Victory means the visitors are now strong favourites to lift the Davis Cup trophy again, despite the presence of Novak Djokovic for Serbia. Djokovic will meet Berdych, the world number seven, in Sunday's opening rubber knowing he must win to take the contest into a deciding match. Stepanek, who is set to face late replacement Dusan Lajovic should a fifth match be needed, believes the pressure is now on Serbia's talisman. "I have full belief in Tomas that he can do it tomorrow," Stepanek told reporters. "He has a shot. Novak will be under pressure tomorrow." Stand-in Czech captain Vladimir Safarik echoed Stepanek's thoughts, before praising his doubles pairing. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt "It's open. In Davis Cup anything can happen," he told Eurosport. "Tomas is such a great player. We are 2-1 up so Novak is under pressure to make the point. "But today I can't believe it. I'm crying. These guys are unbelievable and their record is amazing." Safarik backed Stepanek to win Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek (R) and Tomas Berdych celebrate defeating Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac during their Davis Cup World Group final doubles tennis match the Davis Cup for his country again should it come down to it, after the 34-year-old beat Nicolas Almagro in four sets in the fifth match of last year's final. Lajovic, ranked 117, awaits after he was called into Serbia's team earlier this week when an injury forced Janko Tipsarevic out. "He did the same last year," Safarik said. "He's very experienced and I trust him."