Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/866589
maltatoday SUNDAY, 27 AUGUST 2017 Sport 50 MOTOGP SWIMMING Márquez surges to British Grand Prix pole REIGNING World Champion Marc Márquez secured pole posi- tion for the British Grand Prix and became the first rider to set a time below two minutes at Silverstone. Honda rider and title leader Márquez claimed his fourth con- secutive pole position with a time of 1:59.941, finishing 0.084s faster than Yamaha's Valentino Rossi. LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow also came close to beating the two- minute marker, only to fall agonis- ingly short, though still captured a front-row start for his home race. The second Yamaha of Maver- ick Viñales set the fourth-fastest time, ahead of the Ducati pair- ing of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. Dani Pedrosa participated in the first part of qualifying after being unable to set a top 10 time in prac- tice; the Honda man progressed and qualified in seventh place, in front of Tech 3's Johann Zarco. Aprilla's Aleix Espargaró was ninth, edging out the other Tech 3-run Yamaha of Jonas Folger, who joined Pedrosa in escaping Q1. KTM's Pol Espargaró was a late faller at Turn 16, but still took 11th place, with Pramac Ducati's Scott Redding the slowest Q2 runner. Danilo Petrucci made a mistake during the first qualifying group, falling from his Pramac at Turn 12 early on in the session and ending up in 20th place. Strong currents and swells still bring out strong performances at Birkirkara St. Joseph Garmin open water swimming competitions THE seemingly good weather conditions belied the strong cur- rents, particularly in the North Comino Channel and swells that 132 swimmers, undertaking the Birkirkara St. Joseph Garmin Malta – Gozo – Malta and Gozo- Malta Open Water Swim Race, had to contend with yesterday. Malta-Gozo-Malta The 11km race saw fourteen swimmers starting at the crack of dawn from Marfa Beach, where they proceeded towards Comino onto Gozo before heading back through the North Comino Chan- nel. The only surprises in the fi- nal results where the massive im- provements registered by winners of the Race, Andrew Sultana and Sarah Demicoli. Sultana, won the 2017 edition in a time of 2:41:09. This was the Open Water Swimming National Team athlete second foray in this distance. "This is the second time I competed in this distance. The north westerly force 3-4 wind did not seem too daunting, it was a tough race especially at the be- ginning when we were heading towards Gozo. Eventually the sea conditions improved and the return to Marfa was a steady consistent pace. I am definitely pleased with my result, not only because of the win but also due to the massive improvement of eighteen minutes from the time registered last year". Whilst there was little doubt that Sarah Demicoli would re- tain the title she won in 2016, it is worth noting that the Open Water Swimming National Team athlete beat her 2016 time by fourteen minutes. Demicoli finished the race in 2:44:31. "Today's race was my second over such a distance. Whilst the sea wasn't as rough as last year, it felt more challenging especially around Comino where it was very choppy, making it hard to find a rhythm with your stroke work. Nevertheless, training and hard work paid off as I manged to im- prove my time – thanks goes to my coaches, the ASA and Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club for the or- ganisation. I am now looking for- ward to continue with my train- ing so as to improve my times in future competitions, both locally and abroad" - Sarah Demicoli Gilbert Bartolo and Robert Vella and Lilian Calleja and Nathalie Gauci took second and third place respectively to complete the Mal- ta-Gozo-Malta race podium. Gozo-Malta The Club introduced changes to the format of the race this year, which meant that the approximate distance of 5.5km was extended to over 6km. Stronger than usual currents in the North Comino Channel gave a tough start to the 118 swimmers undertaking the swim from Hondoq ir-Rum- mien to Marfa Bay. As swimmers reached Comino they gained some respite from the currents, though a moderate to strong swell made for some challenging swimming. The tough challenge athletes faced through these conditions were made evident by the results registered, where the majority of the athletes clocked slower times over the previous year. Despite suffering cramps for most of the race Dylan Cachia, who had a very good open water season, did not disappoint. Cachia also had stiff competition from the young Andre Camilleri who has been shadowing him through- out the season. Only nine seconds separated the two athletes. "I started off the race with a comfortable pace, but after the first kilometre I started getting cramps which I had to contend with throughout the remaining duration of the race. Definitely not a pleasant experience but never- theless I am very satisfied to have retained the title"- commented Cachia after the race. Third placed was Isaac Micallef. With eyes firmly set on race fa- vourite Maya Schembri Rodgers, it was National Triathlon Cham- pion Hannah Pace who claimed the honours in the end, edging Schembri Rodgers by two min- utes. Pace has been absent from this race since 2012 but - "Despite being a longer than usual route and quite choppy in some areas, I thoroughly enjoyed the race. This is really a very special race – the waters are clean and clear and we are very lucky to have such an amazing race in Malta". Third female was veteran Isa- belle Zarb. Trophies were presented to the winners by Mr. Joe Caruana Cur- ran, President, Aquatic Sports As- socation of Malta, Mr. Raymond Grech, President, Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club and Mr. Henri Mattocks, General Manager of the Ramla Bay Resort. The Race was held under the auspices of the Aquatic Sports Assocation of Malta (ASA) and supported by Garmin (Malta) and the Ramla Bay Resort. Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club would like to thank the Armed Forces of Malta, Transport Malta, the Malta Police Force, Red Cross (Malta) and the volunteers and marshals present throughout the morning for their assistance provided throughout the race. For more information please visit – www.bkarastjoseph.com. Sarah Demicoli Andrew Sultana receiving his trophy