Salina Bay honours to Bezzina and Zammit
No MQSs for Commonwealth Games
Marylynn Bezzina and Mark Zammit were the clear winners of the Salina Bay Triathlon held this month at the Salina Bay Coast Road.
The event, which consisted of swim: 1,500m, cycle: 40km and run: 10km, was a selection race for the Triathlon Championship of the Small States of Europe in Luxembourg on July 2.
Zammit dominated the race from start to finish, exiting from the calm water of the bay in 21:06, over four minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, Nicky Farrugia, William Brydon and Gordon Camenzuli.
Even in the cycle segment, Zammit notched the best time, covering the 40kms in 1:01.12, though this was only marginally better than David Galea's time.
In the 10km run, it was Michael Gellel who managed to cover the distance in the fastest time of 37:32, but this was not enough to earn him a podium finish. Camenzuli and Galea came in together in 2:09.18 to occupy second and third place. Zammit finished first in 2:05.06.
Bezzina's dominance of the race was equally emphatic. After finishing the swim in 29:10, she went on to register a very good time of 1:13.14 for the cycle and covered the run in 45:32, to end the race in 2:27.56.
In second place was Debbie Caruana Dingli in 3:04.20.
It was Brydon who carried the flag for veterans, completing the triathlon in 2:29.24. He was followed by Chris Iwanik in 2:33.28.
Both Zammit and Bezzina qualify automatically for Luxembourg's triathlon championship. The times achieved by Galea, Camenzuli and Gellel all fall within 5% of the Zammit's time and therefore earn them selection as well.
In Luxembourg, however, Bezzina will be Malta's sole representative.
The times of Zammit and Bezzina (2:05.06 and 2:27.56) fall far short of the MQS set by the Malta Olympic Committee for next year's Commonwealth Games in Australia. The standards established were: (men) 1:56 and (women) 2:10.