Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/722943
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2016 Sport 54 LAST Saturday in front of a crowd of 500 bodybuilding and fitness fans at Aria Complex, the Malta Federation of Bodybuild- ing & Fitness organised its sec- ond competition of the year. 'The Battle' featured 36 ath- letes in 3 categories: Bikini Fit- ness, Men's Physique & Body- building. The Malta Federation of Body- building and Fitness in Malta are always working hard on finding ways to promote their athletes. President Ralph Dece- lis and the rest of the committee have done fantastic work in re- cent years and 'The Battle' looks to be a permanent fixture on the bodybuilding and fitness com- petition calendar. The Overall winners were Sa- mantha Mifsud, Jonathan Sey- chell & Roderick Theuma who together with the runners-up Karen Vella, Mattia Pandolfi and Clive Sammut will repre- sent Malta in the prestigious Arnold Classic Europe which is going to be held in 4 weeks in Barcelona, Spain. Team Malta are not shy from international competition. Ath- letes representing the country in recent years have won the World Mixed Pairs Champion- ship overall title and as well the IFBB Junior Overall Bodybuild- ing European championship ti- tle. To become a member of the MFBBF - http://www.mf bbf.org/ membership-and-registration. STRONG currents and high swells challenged even some of the most seasoned swimmers in the recently held Malta-Gozo- Malta and Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming competitions, organised by the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club and held un- der the auspices of the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta. At the crack of dawn, on Satur- day morning, one hundred eight- een swimmers, accompanied by a flotilla of supporting boats, took to the waters on the north of the island. Fourteen swimmers un- dertook the eleven-kilometre race starting from Marfa in Malta, proceeding towards Ras il-Qala in Gozo and back to Marfa, whilst the rest undertook the 5.5km route from Ras il-Qala. The prevailing swells, which were the strongest near the island of Comino, hampered most of the swimmers from achieving their pre-set timings, however it was only three swimmers that did not finish the race. Malta-Gozo-Malta Richard Zerafa, who has per- formed consistently throughout this summer's open water swim- ming championships, put into good use a combination of tech- nique and experience to win the eleven kilometre race in a time of 2 hours 51 minutes and 40 seconds, well ahead of Under 17 swimmer Andrew Sultana who clocked a time of 2 hours 59 minutes and 47 seconds. Robert Vella was third in a time of 3 hours 5 minutes and 26 seconds. The females' category saw three swimmers take part – a combi- nation of experience and exper- tise that promised an interesting race. It was however young Sarah Demicoli, who has dominated the past two open water swimming seasons who emerged a clear win- ner in a time of 2 hours fifty-eight minutes and thirteen seconds. Demicoli was the second swim- mer to finish the race. In third place was Isabelle Zarb, a sea- soned swimmer with many years of experience, with a time of 3 hours 46 minutes and 51 seconds followed by another seasoned swimmer Sandra Schembri who clocked a time of 4 hours 2 min- utes 20 seconds. In this race only one athlete did not manage to complete the course. Gozo-Malta The 5.5km course was won by two Under 17 swimmers – Dylan Cachia and Maya Schembri Rog- ers – both swimmers have been delivering very good results this season with Cachia winning the overall Birkirkara St. Joseph Open Water Swimming Championships and Schembri achieving a podium place in all the races she competed in. Cachia, who finished in a time of 1 hour 16 minutes and thirteen seconds was followed closely by Gabriel Pace and Isaac Micallef. Maya Schembri Rogers led the female brigade winning the race comfortably ahead of Beata Zubel and Angelika Ruggier. All three were competing in this race for the first time. The Race also saw a strong in- ternational participation with athletes from Ireland, Russia and Australia taking part in what they claimed was one of the best races they have ever competed in. Commenting after the race, Club Secretary Euchar Camill- eri, expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the race. "Open water long distance swimming events are synonymous with Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club, having in the past organised the round Malta swim twice, Gozo to Marsascala twice, round Gozo twice, round Comino and an an- nual championships of open water swimming, each year we experi- enced a consistent growth in the number of participants, which naturally makes things more chal- lenging for the Club's organising team. However, the assistance of the authorities enables us to deliv- er a top-notch experience for our swimmers". A presentation was held imme- diately after the race where Age Group and Overall winners were presented with trophies by the President of the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta Mr. Joe Caruana Curran and Mr. Henri Mattocks, General Manager of the Ramla Bay Resort. Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club is grateful towards the Armed Forces of Malta, Transport Malta, the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta, the Ramla Bay Resort, Red Cross Malta, Club officials and volunteers, and last but not least the athletes who took part in these events. Official Results of the Mal- ta-Gozo-Malta and the Go- zo-Malta Open Water Swim- ming Competitions can be found on the Club's website - http://bkarastjoseph.com/ SWIMMING BODYBUILDING Strong currents do not deter 118 open water swimmers crossing the Channel Record number of swimmers take part in the Malta- Gozo-Malta and Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competitions Richard Zerafa Sarah Demicoli PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX TURNBULL PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAYMOND CASSAR 'The Battle' organised by the Malta Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness a great success Successful athletes qualified for the prestigious 2016 Arnold Classic Europe to be held in Barcelona Clive Sammut, Roderick Theuma and Daniel Zammit