Near-perfect weather welcomed nearly 100 swimmers participating in the Garmin Malta-Gozo-Malta and Garmin Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competitions over the weekend. After a year off, the highly anticipated open water channel swim attracted a robust mix of local and international competitors.
In the 11km Malta-Gozo-Malta race, Luca Vella claimed victory with a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes, and 1 second. As the current Open Water Swimming National Champion, Vella is well-known for his dominance in local open water competitions, and this marked his first attempt at this distance. He maintained a strong lead over second-place finisher Ioannis Koumarelas and third-place Bernard Farrugia, who achieved a personal best. Rosalia Segarra was the only female competitor in this category, completing the race in 4 hours, 3 minutes, and 11 seconds.
The 6km Gozo-Malta leg featured a diverse international field. In Category A, which is for individual swimmers without escort boats, Jonathan Sammut took first place, finishing in 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 54 seconds. He was closely followed by John Scicluna, while Blue Whittaker secured third. On the women’s side, Nicola Lee finished first with a time of 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 19 seconds, followed by Lisa Hibberd and Lisa Mische Lawson.
Additional categories were available for swimmers with escort boats or those competing in groups with escorts.
Trophies for the Overall and Age Group winners were presented by Mr. Mark Gaglione, representative of Medcomms Ltd, the brand representatives of Garmin in Malta. “We are thrilled with this year’s channel swim participation. The renewed interest from international swimmers, who praised the event, bodes well for future editions,” commented Euchar Camilleri, Secretary General of Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club. He also expressed appreciation to Mr. Gaglione for his continued support.
The Club extended its gratitude to Transport Malta and the Armed Forces of Malta for their collaboration and support in making the event a success.
