Galea and Seguna shine supreme at the Eurosport Malta National Duathlon Championship

The 29th edition of the Malta National Duathlon Championship, sponsored by Eurosport Malta, saw the fifth triumph for Keith Galea (the fourth consecutive one) and the first ever Duathlon title for Margaret Spiteri in a very exciting and strongly-fought race.

The Malta Triathlon Federation set up the stage once again at Mtarfa as in 2015, with a tough but scenic route that saw athletes running the first 8kms through Mtarfa, Rabat and Mdina, followed by 27kms of cycle and a final short and gruelsome run of 4kms.

In the male race, the defending champion, Keith Galea of Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club, was determined to keep his title by setting the rythm which immediately set him afield from competition apart from a group of athletes formed by the Pembroke Athleta trio Shaun Galea, David Agius Lia and Brian Magri together with Spaniard Andres Bernal, who were hot on his heels through all Run 1. The five of them entered Transition 1 together, with more than a minute over the chasing group.

During the cycling segment, Keith Galea pushed hard to open a gap and managed to enter Transition 2 with an 18-second lead which would see him retaining his title for yet another year in a finish time of 1 hour, 26 minutes and 44 seconds.

Under 20 Shaun Galea was second after registering the fastest Run 2 of the day, with Bernal grabbing the last spot on the podium.

In the female race, the battle was mainly between Hannah Pace of Pembroke Athleta and Margaret Seguna of Mellieħa A.C. who were both vying for their first ever national Duathlon title. Seguna’s strengths were on the two runs while Pace registered the fastest bike segment, but finally it was Seguna who came out victorious in a time of 1 hours 36 minutes and 45 seconds, with Pace grabbing second place and a hardfighting Michelle Vella Wood in third place.

In the Age Categories, Shaun Galea topped the Under 20 while Neil Markham was first in the Under 23. The Masters Categories saw David Agius Lia, David Cushing, David Galea, Brian Magri and Victor Calvagna topping the Over 35, 40, 45, 45, 50 and 55 categories, while Suzanne Farrugia was first female Over 55.

Through its Malta Youth Triathlon Academy, the Malta Triathlon Federation organised a series of four races for kids and youths immediately after. These were very well attended with 40 athletes between six and 15 years taking part. In Race 1, MYTA athletes Julienne Woods and Max Spiteri Fiteni took the top spots. Isaac Bonnici of Agones SFC and Aurora Gafa’ of MYTA won Race 2, while Gabriel Bonnici of Agones SFC and Emilia Galdes of Mosta Cycling Club took the titles in Race 3. In Race 4, for youths aged 14 and 15, it was a double success for MYTA as Nikol Micallef and Maria Schembri finished first.

Shortly after the race, Cyprian Dalli, president of Triathlon Malta expressed his satisfaction by stating that “it was the perfect start for the muli-sport season, with many athletes of all ages, parents, coaches, administrators, volunteers and helpers coming together for the love of sports! This augurs well for our endevours for the rest of the season and for the years to come”.