Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/668635
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 APRIL 2016 ATHLETICS FOOTBALL Keith Galea and Danica Bonello Spiteri crowned National Duathlon champions DANICA Bonello Spiteri and Keith Galea confirmed once again that they will be the force to be reckoned with in the com- ing months as they both clinched yet another National Title in their illustrous career. It was Galea's fourth Duath- lon Title, the third one in a row, while Bonello Spiteri celebrated the 20th anniversary from her first win in this championship by winning her formidable 9th title. The race was staged at the outskirts of Safi and Kirkop on a short but trick loop of 2km, which the athletes had to cover twice on Run1, 10 times in the Cycle and a final lap for Run2, for a total of 4kms, 20kms and 2 kms. This was a historical race for the Malta Triathlon Federa- tion as it was the first time that a multisport event in Malta was using an Electronic Timing sys- tem, which was operated by Ago- nes SFC, one of the the MTF af- filiated multisport clubs. The mens race was as excit- ing as it can get with 3 athletes, Shaun Galea, Steve Chetcuti and James Cuschieri hot on the heels of the defending champion Keith Galea. All 4 entered into Tran- sition 1 simultaneously. Keith Galea put all his focus on the cycle and managed to escape the group and went on lead which saw him entering the last transi- tion a minute ahead the chasing group. Youngster Shaun Galea had an impressive final run which saw him covering the 2km in just 6 minutes and 44 seconds but it was not enough to past by Keith Galea, who retained the title with 51 seconds to spare. Shaun Galea snatched a sensa- tional second place at just 17 years, while Steve Chetcuti made a clean sweep for Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club on the po- dium. The other youngster Neil Markham won the Under 23 cat- egory, with Bernard Sant taking the honour in the Under 20 cat- egory. In the Masters Categories, Kevin Muscat topped the Over 40s, Hadrian Bonello was the first one in in the Over 50 while Joseph Cortis took the Over 60 honour. In the Female competition, it was clear from the very first me- tres that the title would go either to Danica Bonello Spiteri or to Hannah Pace who stuck together and opened a margin of 40 sec- onds on defending champion Michelle Vella Wood and the chasing group. Pace had the best bike-split of the day but Bonello Spiteri fought back in the last run and claimed her title with a win- ning lead of 25 seconds over Pace in second place, with Vella Wood completing the Ladies podium. Youngster Nina Zammit won the Under 23 category with her 5th female overall place, while Deb- bie Caruana Dingli claimed the Over 50 female category on her return to multisport after a cou- ple of years sabbathical. The hero of the day was how- ever athlete Mark Lewis who during the cycling part of the race deliberately stopped his race to assist a fellow athlete who had just suffered from a bike crash. Mark Lewis helped the athlete in all possible manner and stayed on until the athlete was assisted by the Emergency Services who were present for the race. The Malta Traithlon Federation ex- pressed its great admiration for Lewis's selfless act and com- mended him for his deed. The Malta Triathlon Federa- tion expressed its gratitude and appreciation to organisations and persons who supported this event, namely the Parliamentary Secretariat for Research, Inno- vation, Youth and Sports, The Malta Police Force, the Local Councils of Safi and Kirkop, Ma - gri Cycles, Joseph F. Spiteri & Co. (1927) Ltd., Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club, Oh So Yummy Bars, San Michel water, V.J. Salomone (Marketing) Ltd. and Go&Fun Green Energy Drink. More information about the MTF's races and events can be found on the Federation's web- site www.triathlonmalta.org, or on its facebook page, or by call- ing 79037933. The 28th Edition of the Malta National Duathlon Championship was organised by the Malta Triathlon Federation last Sunday Keith Galea and Danica Bonello Spiteri celebrate their victories. Photography by Angie Conti UEFA chooses Hawk-Eye for Euro 2016 goal-line technology HAWK-EYE technology will be used to decide whether the ball has crossed the goal- line at this year's European Championship, UEFA said yesterday. The British company's camera-based system, used in tennis and cricket and at the 2014 World Cup final, will be installed in all 10 sta- diums hosting the tourna- ment in France. UEFA announced in January that goal-line technology would be installed for Euro 2016 and said in March that this season's Champi- ons League final in Milan and the Europa league final in Basel would also have the system in place. Hawk-Eye, used in the Premier League and Bundesliga, was cho- sen after various systems were trialled. The system uses seven cam- eras to track the flight of the ball, indicating to the referee via a vibration device whether a goal has been scored. Refer- ees will still be helped by ad- ditional assistant referees. "Now, with GLT focussed on the goal line, the additional as- sistants can focus exclusively on the control of other incidents in the penalty area, the most cru- cial area of the pitch," UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina said in a statement. Hawk-Eye, used in the Premier League and Bundesliga, was chosen after various systems were trialled