The BSJ Go & Fun Sprint Triathlon Series, organised by Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club took off on Sunday on the Salina Coast Road with a 750m swim, a 20km cycle and a 5km run in what were searing conditions as the race progressed into the run.
Close to perfect water conditions gave a good start for the triathletes, with Bernard Sant coming out the water first 10 minutes forty six seconds after the start, he was followed three seconds later by Shaun Galea and subsequently by Nikol Micallef. Fourth out of the water was current National Triathlon Champion Hannah Cutajar.
As the race progressed into the 20km cycle, conditions started to become tougher with wind picking up on the bike leg and the temperatures rising gradually.
A fast transition by Shaun Galea enabled him to catch up with Sant out of transition and on to take the lead in the bike segment. Nevertheless, Sant not to be discouraged kept hot on Galea’s heels, with Jason Frendo a few seconds behind him. Galea kept his cool and lead the way into the second transition to head onto the 5-kilometre run. Here Galea pushed forward to start building a gap that would see him win the race with a lead of over two minutes over Sant. Similar to the previous two segments, positions kept changing and in the final segment of the race it was Neil Markham who took up the final place on the podium after producing a solid and calculated run.
Photo Credit: ETU Media
In the women’s segment, one could have forgiven Hannah Cutajar for possibly missing out on first place due to her primary focus on training for the Wave of Change Round Gozo Swim. Nonetheless, it was a flawless performance for Cutajar who led the way throughout the whole race keeping a comfortable distance over second placed Lara Buttigieg. Buttigieg still gave a good performance to register a considerable improvement on her time when compared to last year’s timings. In third place was the evergreen Suzanne Farrugia, who beat off some strong competition in her field and registering a slight improvement over last year’s registered timings.
Photo Credit: ETU Media
“Despite the heat the BSJ Go & Fun Sprint Triathlon Series kicked off with some great performances. The Club also put to the test the newly graduated Technical Officials who this weekend undertook training provided by representatives of the European Triathlon Union. This is part of our efforts to ensure that our races are top notch in every aspect” explained Euchar Camilleri, Secretary General, Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club. “The Club thanks Paul Groves and Cecilia Frascaroli, from the European Triathlon Union, for providing the training and supporting the race on the day”.
Medals were presented to the top three males and females immediately after the race by the ETU representatives.
Photo Credit: Tache Photography
The Club is grateful for the support of Go & Fun, Malta Police Force (Traffic Section), Naxxar Local Council, Transport Malta and all the volunteers who made the race possible on the day.
The second race of the Go & Fun Sprint Triathlon Series will take place on Sunday 7th July on the Salina Coast Road. For more information please visit http://www.bkarastjoseph.com
