Danica Bonello Spiteri and Dermot Galea dominate at the National Triathlon Championships

Having won these championships for the 10^th time, the two champions stand on a level of their own. No other athlete in the history of these championships – which now spans almost a quarter of a century – has even come close to their achievements.

A total of 102 athletes took part in the two Races (Olympic & Sprint) which the Malta Triathlon Association organized with the assistance of the B’Kara St Joseph SC and Joseph F. Spiteri & Co (1927) Ltd. This is an absolute record of participation, although not a completely unexpected one, in view of the constant increase in participation over the past couple of years.

Predictably, Mark Zammit exited the water first after having covered the 1500m swim in 21m:32s. He was followed by Mark Sykes, a top British Age Group Athlete, who, together with Katie Silke, was the guest of the Malta Tourism Authority. In third and fourth places were the eventual winner, Dermot Galea, and Keith Galea. Carl Attard exited the water in fifth position.

The fastest female swimmer was Michelle Scott in 23m:17s, followed by Katie Silke just five seconds behind. At this point, Bonello Spiteri was over a minute behind the two leaders.

On the bike, the four athletes Dermot Galea, Keith Galea, Mark Sykes and Carl Attard soon chased the leader Mark Zammit down, annihilating the two minutes advantage he had gained in the swim in the first two laps. None of the above athletes, however, had the fastest cycle time – that honour went to Fabio Spiteri who covered the 40km in 1hr:01m:12s.  

Danica Bonello Spiteri powered her way to the front in the bike segment of the race with a time of 1hr:10m:54s – a time which several of her male counterparts would have been happy with. Johanna Calleja had the second fastest time, just eight seconds behind the leader. Silke and Scott, however, remained in contention for the other podium positions.

Coming last in the three disciplines, the run segment of a triathlon can be the most exciting of the three because an athlete can gain or lose it all here, no matter how fast he is in the other two disciplines. This is what happened last Sunday, with Carl Attard and Keith Galea changing places at the front throughout the first lap, only for Dermot Galea to emerge victorious in the second lap, finishing the Race in 2hrs:04m:55s. The fastest run time, however, went surprisingly to Steve Chetcuti who achieved a time of 39m:33s for the 10km Run. Carl Attard, one of the sports’ emerging talents, finished second just 6 seconds behind, while Keith Galea was third a further 55 seconds adrift.

Not content with having the best cycle time, Bonello Spiteri went on to also establish the best run time of the day to win the Race in 2hrs:20m:12s, almost 5 minutes ahead of second placed Katie Silke. In third position was Michelle Scott in 2hrs:28m:09s. The second Maltese athlete was Johanna Calleja in 2hrs:30:42 while third was Donatelle Camilleri in 2hrs:32m:12s.

The Sprint race was won by Wilfred Stelling in 1hr:09m:57s, while the Women’s Category was won by Hannah Pace in 1hr:19m:12s.

Mr. Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, President of the Maltese Olympic Committee, congratulated all the participants and presented the trophies to the winners in the various categories.

The other sponsors of the Race were Kristal Water and Gillette.