Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/560195
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 AUGUST 2015 53 Sport FOOTBALL ATHLETICS BIRKIRKARA St. Joseph Sports Club and National Team triathlete Graham Borg has done Malta proud with a very fine showing in the debut race of the 5150 triathlon in Budapest Hun- gary, resulting in a second place on the podium of his Age Group. The 5150 race kicked off with a brutal 1.5km swim. Although athletes were grouped according to their age brackets, most of these waves started together mak- ing it for a very aggressive start to a hotly contested race. Borg exited the water in fourth place in a time of 21 minutes 26 seconds. Borg gained precious time with a fast and smooth tran- sition into the 41km cycling segment. Battling strong winds, Borg was unable to get any respite from the pan- cake flat course having to maintain a consistent speed throughout. Borg's skill on the bike enabled him to move up two places in his Age Group a posi- tion he was able to maintain on the 10km run. "I am elated with today's perform- ance, hard and consistent training has really paid off", said Borg after the race. "The weather conditions were very poor in the run up to the race and was naturally of a concern. However it improved in the hours before the race, and apart from the wind on the bike segment, it was fairly decent". Borg completed the course in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds. Borg's performance also saw him secure eleventh place in the overall classification. Borg's participation in the 5150 Budapest Triathlon was made pos- sible through Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club, Garmin Malta, On Running Shoes, cfragrances.com, Powerbar, Go&Fun, MZ Invest- ments. Graham Borg after the 5150 Race Presentation where he collected a prize for his 2nd place in his Age Group Graham Borg secures second place in 5150 Triathlon in Budapest FIFA meets with its five major sponsors, including Adidas SOCCER governing body FIFA met with five of its major spon- sors Thursday as it tries to re- gain credibility following a cor- ruption scandal that has led to the worst crisis in its 111-year history. "FIFA met with its commercial affiliates AB InBev, Adidas, Co- ca-Cola, McDonald's and Visa at the home of FIFA to discuss cur- rent matters," the Zurich-based organization said in a state- ment. After saying very little as al- legations of wrongdoing against FIFA officials mounted in recent years, some sponsors, notably Visa and Coca-Cola, FIFA's old- est sponsor, criticized the or- ganization following the May arrest of senior FIFA executives on corruption charges. The sponsors issued a state- ment following the meeting say- ing, "We reiterated our expec- tations for robust reform, and we will continue to engage with FIFA." FIFA made $5.7 billion for the four years through 2014, accord- ing to its latest financial report. Its marketing contracts repre- sented 29 percent of the total, the second- highest component after broadcast contracts. FIFA says it's in the process of restructuring parts of the organ- ization, notably its scandal-taint- ed executive board. Nine former and current officials, includ- ing two current vice presidents, were named in a U.S. indictment that alleges more than two dec- ades of corrupt practices. Swiss police acting on U.S. extradition requests arrested seven officials in May, two days before FIFA's presidential election. In an effort to reduce the pres- sure on the organization he's led since 1998, President Sepp Blatter said he would step down four days after winning a fifth term in office. A new election is scheduled for Feb. 26. "During the meeting, FIFA reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, reform and col- laboration with its valued part- ners," FIFA's statement said. Independent Body FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said last month that Co- ca-Cola, Visa and McDonald's had written asking for informa- tion about what the organization was doing to improve corporate governance and restore its repu- tation. Coke and Visa said FIFA should allow an independent body to lead the reforms. FIFA has in- stead created an internal body, which is being led by former In- ternational Olympic Committee Director General Francois Car- rard. He'll be assisted by repre- sentatives nominated from soc- cer's six confederations and two officials chosen by sponsors. The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 3 in the Swiss capital, Bern. Visa in July called FIFA's re- sponse to the crisis "wholly in- adequate." Also in July, Coca-Cola said it advocated a third-party com- mission led by "one or more eminent, impartial leaders" to reform FIFA. FIFA's other part- ners are Gazprom and Hyundai. Valcke said in July the scandal has hurt FIFA's efforts to find new sponsors.