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22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST 2015 Sport TRIATHLON Vella Wood's creditable performance as Pro Triathlete in Ironman 70.3 Gdynia IN less than a year before making history as the first Maltese tria- thlete to make it to an Ironman podium, Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Triathlete Michelle Vella Wood made history again by being the first Maltese triath- lete to race in the Pro category of an Ironman 70.3 Race. Racing in the first edition of the Ironman 70.3 in Gdynia, Poland, Vella Wood tackled a tough and technical course to finish 6th overall in the female category. Vella Wood competed against the likes of experienced pro triath- letes Diana Riesler (GER), Kotfi- ca, Paulina (POL), Ewa Komander (POL) and Erika Csomor (HUN). Race day kicked off on a very grey Sunday morning with a 1.9km swim which took place in Gdansk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, with Vella Wood exiting fourth out of the water nine seconds before Hungar- ian triathlete Erika Csomor. A f lat, technical and windy 90km cycle through the outskirts of the city was followed by a hilly run through the city centre and along the coast by which time the weather had changed and temperature had risen well above that experienced at the start of the race. Vella Wood completed the race in sixth place overall in a time of 4 hours 58 minutes thus matching her best time in this distance. "Racing at this level was a fan- tastic experience from which I have learnt immensely" , said Vella Wood. "This definitely has been a good learning curve in preparation for my next race which will see me compete against the likes of Natascha Badmann and Corinne Abraham at Ironman Vichy in France at the end of the month". Michelle Vella Wood is spon- sored by BMIT Ltd. and Smart Light Co. Ltd. and supported by Mochika. Keith Galea back from Triathlon Training Camp in Poland CURRENT Malta Triathlon champion Keith Galea has just returned from an intensive training Camp, held in Tarnow Poland. The week training Camp was made possible through the Ol- ympic Solidarity Programme of the Maltese Olympic Com- mittee. Galea's participation in this training camp was part of the preparation prospective athletes for the 2017 Mediterra- nean Games are undergoing. Galea was accompanied by National Triathlon Coach Der- mot Galea, who provided his input and guidance thought the duration of the Camp. During this week Galea cov- ered a distance of 30 kilometres swimming, 550km cycling and 80km of running. As part of the training programme, athletes were required to take part in an 80 kilometre cycling race, which was technical and which saw athletes undertake a steep 2,000 metre ascent. The race ensured that athletes gained experience in racing after in- tensive training. Galea placed a very respectable 20th placing in a field of 150 athletes. Commenting after the conclu- sion of the training camp, Galea said he was pleased with his per- formance throughout the week, which was very intensive and demanding. Galea also noted that during certain sessions he managed to lower his registered timings which showed that he benefitted immensely from the training camp. National Triathlon Coach Dermot Galea commented that Keith Galea was able to sustain the intensity of the training, improve his timings and gain a good result in the cycling race. This training complements the training that Galea is undertak- ing in preparation for the forth- coming international races. Upon his return to Malta, Galea will be updating his rac- ing CV with his participation in the Polish National Triath- lon Championships, the local National Aquathlon and Sprint Distance Championships, and the last race of the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Sprint Triathlon Series. Galea will naturally be also focusing on attempting to retain his title in the forthcoming National Triathlon Championships to be held in October after which he will take part in the San Vito lo Capo Sprint Triathlon in Sicily a week later. In the meantime Galea has been registering very good per- formances. Galea won the first race of the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Sprint Triathlon Series and achieved second placing in the same Club's 5km Road Running Series behind Portuguese professional athlete Bruno Lima. Keith and Dermot Galea would like to take this opportunity to thank the Maltese Olympic Committee, the Malta Tria- thlon Federation for enabling them to take part in the Tarnow Training Camp as well as Piotr Yanuszewski for his assistance during their stay in Poland. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Triathlete and National Champion Keith Galea Ironman 70.3 Pro Triathlete Michelle Vella Wood crossing the Gydnia, Poland course finish line