Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/767061
maltatoday, SATURDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2016 45 Sport TRIATHLON Triathlon in Malta Extreme sport or mainstream endurance sport? MARIA VELLA GALEA THE public image of triathlons has shifted from that of an extreme sport, only possible for a tiny minority, to a more mainstream en- durance sport. The increasing numbers in participation reinforce this theory, as one could see from the local triathlon scene, which has seen hundreds of Maltese triathletes cross the finish line, testing their limits in the process. For the average athlete one discipline can be more than enough. So thus begs the ques- tion… why engage in three? Swimming, cycling and running in quick succession, a race against time even when transitioning between one discipline to another! Reasons are plenty but probably the one that gets the most votes is the ability to test one's limit to the maximum. Triathlon in Malta Malta hosts a very thriving racing scene thanks to the efforts of the Malta Triathlon Federation, five affiliated Clubs and two reg- istered entities. Between them, a full racing calendar has been developed. All multisport events are sanctioned by the local federation and include Triathlons (swim-bike-run), du- athlons (run-bike-run) and aquathlons (run- swim-run). Whilst in the not so distant past it fell upon Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club, as the only Triathlon Club, to host races, those days are gone. Whilst the Birkirkara Club still tops the race organisers' leaderboard, local clubs – St. Patrick's AC, Mellieha AC and Agones SFC – have sought Federation affiliation and joined Birkirkara St Joseph in contributing towards the organisation of 12 events on the multisport calendar. Although not affiliated clubs, Xterra Malta and Ocean Lava Malta both have undertaken to organise two international races. Both are franchises of international brands – Xterra Malta hosting an off road triathlon in the scenic and beautiful Majjistral Park nature reserve whilst Ocean Lava is the only middle distance race on the island. The latter also doubles up as the National Championship race in this distance. The tenth anniversary of the Middle Dis- tance triathlon race brought in some major changes – most notably teaming up with international and upcoming brand Ocean Lava, the transition from its original loca- tion in Birzebbugia to the revamped Coast Road – the latter providing a very spectator friendly route and adapts better in terms of race logistics when catering for large num- bers of athletes. Both Xterra and Ocean Lava races have attracted some notable international talent and professional athletes to our island, thus firmly contributing towards establishing Malta as a promising location with a strong potential for sports tourism and making its mark in the international racing scene. 2016 Hall of Fame With six national championship events, the battle for a top placing promised to be a heated one. First championship event to take place was the National Duathlon Championships which saw 2014 Champion Danica Bonello Spiteri regain her title after facing stiff com- petition from Hannah Pace. No upsets for Keith Galea who retained his title for the fourth year. Next up was the Middle Distance Cham- pionship which saw two new champions – Rudolph Agius and Hannah Pace being crowned. Pace gained her first title in this distance having only recently given long dis- tance racing major focus. The Aquathlon Championships produced disappointment for Keith Galea who missed securing another title to his inventory by four seconds when Shaun Galea overtook him in the second run to win his first ever title. Danica Bonello Spiteri retained her title by a breath of a whisker having just managed a three second advantage over Hannah Pace. In the Cross Triathlon Championship, Danica Bonello Spiteri once again made top billing on the podium, however it was a totally new face that made it to the males' podium when Alan Borg clinched his first national title despite being a regular on the racing scene. The Sprint National Championship proved to be one of the most aggressively fought bat- tles but at the end it was Hannah Pace who had the better of last year's Champion Dan- ica Bonello Spiteri – a relatively shoulder to shoulder battle ensued until the run segment when Pace shot off to gain a good advantage over Bonello Spiteri. Whilst it had been hoped to have a similar duel in the National Championships, it was not to materialize since Bonello Spiteri did not compete due to work commitments. Nevertheless, Pace gave a fine and strong performance emerging a worthy winner of the title. Homegrown Talent Although small in size, Malta has produced some fine talent which keeps on delivering some notable results. The Maltese flag has been proudly flown on many podiums this year! One gold and two silver medals were won during the European Triathlon Union Age Group Championships held in Lisbon in June when veteran triathlete Danica Bonello Spi- teri clinched gold in the Standard Distance. Hannah Pace increased the medal tally with two silver medals, in Sprint and Standard distance, in the space of two days. Pace went on to take more podium placings throughout the summer months – first was her improved performance at Ironman 70.3, where she won her Age Group for the sec- ond year running. Next on the agenda was her participation in the World Champion- ships, the first Maltese female to do so, hav- ing qualified the previous year. Pace secured a third place on the hotly contested 18-24 age group podium. In the wake of her local National Triathlon title win, Pace went on to compete with French team Brive Limousin Triathlon in the Coupe de France de Duath- lon where she helped secure a second place for her team. Michelle Vella Wood, who earlier on in the year took a short break to focus on cy- cling, gave a determined performance upon her return to longer distance triathlon with her Ironman 70.3 performance in Budapest. She finished second in her age group, secur- ing a qualification for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 championships in the process. Male athletes Rudolph Agius, Fabio Spiteri and David Galea, all considered veterans in the long distance triathlon scene produced some veritable results in 2016. Agius, shortly after his National Middle Distance Triathlon win, secured a qualifica- tion for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Cham- pionships following a sound performance in Barcelona. Despite a few setbacks due to injury, Fabio Spiteri, no stranger to the dis- tance, gave one of his best performances ever in Rügen, Germany to enable him secure a 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualification. Spiteri has now set his sights on completing a double Ironman race in 2017. Ask any long distance triathlete and they will tell you their ultimate goal would be qualification for the Ironman World Cham- pionship, which takes place annually in Kona, Hawaii. Qualifying is not for the many, with qualifying slots available to only a handful of the top athletes in each age group. Malta, until October of this year, had only seen one athlete qualify – former ten-time National Champion Dermot Galea who competed in 2013. This year, however, David Galea (no rela- tion to Dermot Galea) fulfilled a long term dream of earning a Kona slot. Galea has been on the multisport scene for the past two decades, constantly being in the top group of athletes and winning Triathlon Cham- pionships, Duathlon Championships and Triathlete of the Year awards in 1996, 1997 and 2004. His determination and focus was rewarded in July, when he earned his qualifi- cation to Kona during the Ironman UK race. Galea, at age 45 is still the holder of the best time for a Maltese in Ironman races – Galea has held the record since 1997, bettering his time in 2015 when he registered a time of 9 hours 10 minutes and 33 seconds. Achievements were not only registered in the long distance triathlons. In addition to local Triathlete of the Year, six-time National Champion Keith Galea also added Triathlete of the Year as well as Sicilian Triathlete of the Year to his list of accolades this year when he competed in a series of six races held around Sicily. Looking to the future The future for triathlon in Malta looks bright. Facilitating access to the sport at grass root level through the Malta Youth Triathlon Academy is yielding results and participation is still going strong. Quite a few athletes in the Academy have been in- volved since its inception and have produced some very fine results in their own right. Some have attended training camps abroad whilst others have participated in the Euro- pean Junior Cup. Investment, through the assistance of SportMalta and the European Triathlon Union enabled three Academy coaches to obtain Level 1 and Level 2 coach- ing certification thus further strengthening the Academy's resources. 2017 promises to see the momentum the sport picked up in recent years continue. Triathlon does not seem to be just another fad which will eventually fade away, on the contrary it seems like it's firmly here to stay.