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22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2015 Sport TRIATHLON On This Friday's Show Michael Diacono makes three exciting dishes with capers Fridays at 18:15 on TVM Triathlete Hannah Pace wins age group at inaugural Ironman 70.3 Turkey Hannah Pace and Margaret Seguna secure podium placing in the Turkish Riviera THE Maltese contingent consist- ing of National Team Triathletes Graham Borg, Hannah Pace, Mar- garet Seguna and Michelle Vella Wood, took part in the inaugural Ironman 70.3 triathlon in An- talya. The contingent certainly held the Maltese flag high with all four triathletes shining in their re- spective categories. Set in the Turkish Riviera, the race was held in relatively adverse conditions which were further ex- acerbated with the heavy rainfall that hit the area in the days pre- ceding the race. The 1.9km swim was a two loop course held in Be- lek Beach. Rough seas impeded the usual wave starts and organ- isers adopted a rolling start - this type of start saw athletes line up according to their predicted swim time, with groups of ten athletes sent off at five second intervals. The 90km cycle was held in ardu- ous conditions – where the first part of the course was flat and fast, the second part was the total opposite - hilly, wet, muddy and uneven roads. The 21km run was a two loop flat course where lively city scenes and lush green areas merged to greet the thousands of athletes taking part. Pembroke Athleta's Hannah Pace, was competing in her sec- ond Ironman 70.3. Her first out- ing in Budapest saw her win her Age Group (18-24) and thus win- ning a coveted place in the 2016 World Ironman 70.3 Champion- ships in Australia, the first Mal- tese female to do so. Pace contin- ued to show her mettle by giving a repeat performance in Turkey. Marked improvements were regis- tered in her swim. With the roll- ing start in place, Pace was able to leave with the fastest swim group, three minutes after the female pro category. By shaving off four min- utes from her previous time Pace clocked the fourth fastest swim of the day. In the cycling segment Pace was able to keep up with the front group with only one pro fe- male in front of her, although the markedly tougher route was dot- ted with bumpy roads, muddy and wet sections, this did not deter Pace from pushing ahead to keep the same bike split registered in Budapest where conditions were far more favourable. Pace's ef- forts in the cycling segment did have some slightly adverse effects in the run when she fell behind a few pro athletes. However, she maintained her timing for this distance to finish the race in 4 hours 42 minutes and 58 seconds, thus clinching first place on the podium, tenth place in the overall female category and breaking the current National record. "I am still overwhelmed with my result in Turkey. This season has been very demanding and whilst deep down I was aiming for a per- sonal best time, upon seeing the sea and cycle route conditions I was made to think otherwise. As the race progressed, the fact that I was up with some of the top pros kept me motivated to keep push- ing and somehow managed the same bike split I had had in Bu- dapest which is pancake flat. I got a bit too carried away in this seg- ment and paid the price in the run where pro after pro flew by me," commented Pace after the race. "Considering its my second expe- rience there are quite a few areas that need fine tuning and some er- rors that could have been avoided with some more experience." Mellieha AC triathlete Margaret Seguna is also fresh in the Ironman 70.3 scene. Having claimed the local Middle Distance Champion- ship title in May, Seguna's outing in Turkey was her first interna- tional experience in this distance. Seguna, who hails from a running background, showed determined strength to clinch third place on her Age Group's (30-34) podium finishing the race in 4 hours 55 minutes 35 seconds. Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club triathlete and multiple Iron- man finisher Graham Borg began his first Ironman 70.3 race on a positive note having completed the swim in 23 minutes. However, half way through the 90km bike course, Borg suffered a setback when he crashed at 40km/hr. The crash caused Borg to lose precious time since he had to contend with technical problems on his bike as well as injuring his hip and knee in the process. Determination to keep pushing till the end was re- warded with Borg finishing sixth in his Age Group (30 – 34) and earn a place in the 2016 World Ironman Championships in Aus- tralia. Having turned pro this year Michelle Vella Wood (Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club) registered substantial improvements in her swim and run segments. Her grit- ty performance saw her complete the tough course in a personal best time and complete the Top 10 list of a heavily contested pool of female pro athletes. With the 2015 Triathlon rac- ing season well and truly over, all athletes will be earning a well deserved break before resum- ing their training programmes in preparation for the next season. Margaret Seguna Hannah Pace at the 2015 Ironman 70.3 Turkey run segment