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22 THE Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Open Water Swimming Championships came to a close last week when the sixth and final race of the series was held at Salina. The Championships consisted of five 2km swims and a final race of 4kms and the over- all and age-group winners in the male and fe- male categories were swimmers with the best accumulated times in five (including the 4km swim) of the six races. The races also served as qualifiers for swimmers wanting to take part in the Malta-Gozo-Malta and Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competitions organ- ised by the Club. Two hundred and seventy- eight swimmers took part in these champi- onships, of whom two hundred and thirteen were males and sixty-five were females. With 2015 champion Neil Agius out of the fray, having only competed in one of the rac- es, the males' championship title was up for grabs. From the onset it was apparent that Dylan Cachia was going to be a worthy con- tender for the honours, however his aim for a third win was thwarted by newcomer Kyle Buhagiar who broke Cachia's unbeaten run. Buhagiar went on to win also the fourth race. Cachia performed well in the subsequent races but top place on the podium eluded him when he was beaten by Russian swimmer Ser- gey Alchebaev who pipped him to the place in both the fifth and sixth races. Nevertheless Cachia's consistent performance was suffi- cient for him to claim the 2016 Championship title. Second placed was Richard Zerafa and third on the podium was Andrew Sultana. No surprises or upsets were registered in the females' category when Sarah Demicoli, win- ner of the 2015 Championship, once again claimed the title winning all of the five races she competed in. Second placed was Mar- garet Seguna who had a very positive perfor- mance throughout with time improvements registered in all 2km races. Third place was taken up by Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club Swimming Head Coach and evergreen vet- eran swimmer Isabelle Zarb. "This year was another record year for the Club, the sport is growing and as well as see- ing consistent performances from seasoned swimmers, we are also seeing some fresh talent leaving their mark in the Champion- ships," observed Euchar Camilleri, Secretary General, Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club. "Naturally we do not sleep on our success, each year is a learning curve and from it we take the lessons learnt and implement im- provements for the forthcoming year as we want to ensure a great race experience to the hundreds of swimmers that take part in our races. The organisers have also to contend with the setting up of the race venues, which have now become larger due to the unprec- edented number of swimmers. These are events sanctioned by the Aquatic Sports As- sociation of Malta, which demands the prop- er standards to be reached in these champi- onships". The Club's next swimming commitment is the annual Malta-Gozo-Malta and Go- zo-Malta Open Water Swimming Cham- pionships which will take place on Satur- day 27th August. A Race Briefing session for swimmers who have qualified for this event will take place on Tuesday 23rd Au- gust at 19:00hrs at Mosta Local Council. More information on the Club's activities can be found on www.bkarastjoseph.com The Age Group winners in these champion- ships were also announced Masters A - Roberto Demicoli Masters B - Paul Privitera / Sandra Schembri Masters C - Joseph Zerafa Boffa Masters D - Marian Belsten maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2016 Sport AQUATHLON SWIMMING Shaun Galea, 18, wins first major national title Danica Bonello Spiteri wins her third National Aquathlon Championship ANGIE CONTI THE Aquathlon Championship is a multi- sport event where athletes run for 2.5KM, then swim for a full 1 kilometre and finish off with another 2.5KM run. The champi- onship race was held in Marsaxlokk and saw the participation of a record-number of 84 athletes. Danica Bonello Spiteri confirmed her dominance in the local Aquathlon scene as she grabbed the third National Champion- ship in three editions in the discipline after grabbing also the National Duathlon title earlier on in April this year. But the most important victory in Mar- saxlokk was registered by youngster Shaun Galea who become National Aquathlon Champion at just 18 years of age by sprint- ing to victory over the defending champion, Keith Galea. The women's race saw an exciting duel between defending champion Bonello Spi- teri and Hannah Pace. Both athletes shared the spoils during the race, as Pace had the best swim while Bonello Spiteri registered the best of the two runs. However, some precious seconds conceded by Pace, led to Bonello Spiteri claiming the title with Pace trailing just three seconds behind her. Third place was gained by Michelle Vella Wood. In the men's race, The Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club's trio, Keith Galea, Shaun Galea and Omar Said immediately set the tem- po from the very first seconds of the race. They entered Transition 1 trailed by Neil Markham, Jean Claude Randon. Not even the swim could put any space between the front pack as the first three athletes entered the last transition within 6 seconds of each other. However, in the last run, Shaun Galea find more energy to spare as he charged on the defending champion and won the na- tional title by 8 seconds. Said claimed the third place on the podium. The Age Categories awards were won by Neil Markham and Anjelika Balzan Ruggier in the Under 23 Category, by Paul Privitera and Karen Amato in the Over 40s, Gaetano Catania and Suzanne Farrugia in the Over 50s, while Pawlu Brincat claimed the Over 60s category. The event also saw a record number of participation in the Children, Juniors and Youths Swim-Run races which were or- ganised by the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy-MYTA with the Malta Triathlon Federation, as 50 young athletes between the ages of 5 and 15 filled the race course at il-Qrajten Beach. Max Fiteni Spiteri and Aurora Gafa' won the Under 9 race while Luca Vella and Erica Louise Zlaten topped the Under 11 event. In the Juniors, it was Thomas Woods and Emilia Vella who won the race, while the Youth race saw the suc- cess of Malcolm Vassallo and Callie Hock. 'We introduced Aquathlon to entice more people to multisport and triathlon, and to- day's races showed we are succeeding in this quest by registering record participations in both adult and youth races' said a visibly satisfied President of the Malta Triathlon Federation, Cyprian Dalli. 'While congratu- lating all the winners and participants, the Federation expresses its gratitude to our sponsors, Gatorade and Farsons Beverage Imports Company Limited for their support as well as the fantastic group of volunteers who made this event possible'. The race was also supported by NM Ar- rigo Ltd., Perskindol Malta, Nyoo Destina- tion Welness, ORS Hydration Tablets by JV Pharma, Rimus Trading Agency, Weetabix Protein, Alpen Cereal Bars, Nectar Group, Carmelo Abela Marketing, Sunshine Snacks and San Michel Table Water. The next event by the Malta Triathlon Federation is scheduled for the 2nd of Octo- ber, when the Grand Finale of the National Triathlon Championship will be held on the Coast Road. For more information, the MTF can be reached on 79037933 or on info@tri- athlonmalta.org. Dylan Cachia, Sarah Demicoli crowned Open Water Swimming Champions