Bronze Medal in the ETU European Triathlon Championships

Hi Everyone,

Recently I flew to turkey to participate in the European Triathlon Championships which took place in Alanya on the 14^th June. The level was very high but was still confident that I could achieve a great result. From the results obtained from recent races and tests, I knew that I am in a good shape and wanted to show that in this race as I peaked specifically for this event.

In the 1500m swim I stayed in leading pack. I covered the distance in 22minutes 40 seconds. I expected much better since my times in training are much faster. However I was only 1mins away from the leader so still was a positive result since usually I will be more that 2mins from the first swimmer. It strange that no one swam under 20mins which means that there is the possibility that the course was a bit long.

As soon as I started the bike I felt my legs strong and fresh. It was a positive sign. The only concern was the parts with cobblestones. 15km of the 40km was with cobblestones and that reduces a bit the pace. At first I was not feeling comfortable and couldn’t maintain the pace I wanted on this type of surface. I adapted my position a bit on the bike in order to be more stable than aerodynamic on the bike. The pace I was keeping was very fast and I knew I was going to do a good time. I covered the 40km in a personal best time of 57minutes 45 seconds. An impressive time.

With such a bike spilt, I knew I could break the 2 hour barrier If I ran well. The 10km was completely flat so the chances to run fast were high. I started the run fast but steady and increasing the pace each lap. My wife was there shouting and her support proved to be crucial as in the last lap I said to myself “It’s now or never”. I increased the pace and kept on pushing till the finish line. My Wife and MTF President were shouting as soon as I approached the finishing line.

I sprinted home in a new personal best time 1hr 57mins and winning the bronze Medal in the process.   I covered the 10km in 36minutes which is a fast running split. It was a great honour and very emotional moment when I received my medal on the podium with the Maltese flag around me.  Such a result gives me more motivation to keep on training harder and harder.

I would like to thank my sponsors GARMIN MALTA, STARBENE SHOP of Mosta and BBB for their constant support, my parents, the Malta triathlon Federation, my club Birkirkara St Joseph,  my brother coach Dermot for their support as well. A big thanks goes to my wife Elizabeth for here great support she gives me every single day.

That’s all for now

Yours in Sport - Keith