Updated 8.30pm - Challenge ends

After months of long training sessions, paralympic athlete Julian Bajada on Tuesday successfully concluded a mammoth 28-kilometre non-stop rowing challenge on an indoor machine. 

He started rowing just after 6pm and completed the challenge in two hours, 23 minutes and 33 seconds

“I’m super excited and pumped up, and I just want to remind people why I am doing this - for Malta to have its first national paralympic rowing program,” Bajada told Times of Malta moments before embarking on his feat. 

A lawyer by profession, Bajada is the secretary-general of the Malta Paralympic Committee. Last year, he led Team Malta in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

During the challenge, he covered a distance equivalent to that between Mellieħa and Sliema. He is the first Maltese paralympic athlete to row this distance non-stop.

The challenge is not an easy one for anyone with two hands, but Bajada did it with one. 

To row, Bajada attaches a strap to his short right arm to extend it so that he can do the full rowing motion.

Julian Bajada at the start of his mammoth challenge on Tuesday afternoon. Video: Giulia Magri

The funds Bajada collects will be invested in paralympic rowing boats and towards the setting up of a fund to support a paralympic rowing development program, a first for Malta. 

There are currently seven para-athletes who are training with the Siġġiewi Rowing Club, the first Maltese rowing club with para-athletes within its ranks.

So far, the para-athletes can only train indoors but Bajada hopes the challenge will raise the necessary funds for the right equipment to be bought.

Bajada was born with a severe form of femoral fibular ulnar syndrome, a rare condition that affected his legs and arms. He spent most of his childhood in and out of hospitals in the UK, undergoing numerous operations. 

But instead of letting his physical disabilities hinder him, his strong passion for sports inspired him to push forward and motivate others along the way. 

One can donate to Julian's cause here.

Bank transfer / Revolut transfer to MPC bank account:

IBAN - MT05VALL22013000000040025857696

Account No. - 40025857696 / Swift Code - VALLMTMT

Account Beneficiary - Malta Paralympic Committee

Bank - Bank of Valletta p.l.c.

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