It has been a busy weekend for some of our off road athletes representing Malta in the European Athletics Off Road Running Championships in Annecy, France. A team, handpicked by our Maltese federation to represent our country in these European Championships.
Races were scheduled between the 31st of May and the 2nd of June with a contingent of Maltese athletes competing in different races during the off road bonanza weekend for the European Championships.
Muddy terrain, beautiful scenery and the top trail runners from all around Europe, battled it out in the heart of Annecy, France for the precious top spots in various races categories and distances, each with it’s own characteristics and challenges. The French were expected to sweep off top spots during these races, and they have duly delivered.
The local media described this as “The French Sweep” further adding that “the host nation dominated the women’s and men’s trail events in unprecedented style. France won all three individual medals in both races, as well as both team titles. The superiority of the French athletes was evident from the start in Faverges. All four formed the leading group in both the men’s and women’s races.”
To just have the thought and the mental strength of competing in such races, whilst also representing your country in these races, is an absolute privilege.
Considering the tiny, mountain less island that we all live in, the results and success that our athletes achieved in these races, should make each and everyone of us proud!
Below we have gathered all the results information from the races as reported by the official time keeper.
On Friday, we had a total of 6 athletes competing in an approximately 7.5k uphill run with an elevation of around 900m in an overwhelmingly difficult uphill conditions due to rain and mud. Nonetheless, our team managed to get some good timings in these races. Here are the results achieved by our Maltese athletes.
Men’s Uphill Elite Race
pos 52. SPITERI Simon MLT 52:56
pos 59. MICALLEF Luke MLT 54:53
pos 64. TANTI Aidan MLT 59:28
Group also placing 15th overall for Malta.
Women’s Uphill Elite Race:
pos 54. CAMILLERI Giselle MLT 1:14:35 \ pos 56. ABDILLA Tara MLT 1:16:24
pos 57. HILI Carmen MLT 1:21:47
Group also placing 14th overall for Malta.
On Saturday it was time for the trail run which, this time around, was approximately 59k+ with an astonishing 3500m of elevation. Malta has once again sent Ryan (Mex) Farrugia for the 3rd consecutive time for this race, and till now, he is the only Maltese athlete in history to represent Malta for this race category.
Farrugia managed to place 61st amongst the top trail runners in Europe with an amazing time of 6 hours 33 minutes and 59 seconds.
Men’s Trail Running Senior Race
pos 61. FARRUGIA Ryan MLT 6:33:59
On Sunday, Malta was represented by two other athletes in the Up & Down Elite race. This race comprises of a 16k+ run with an elevation of approximately 900m. Same as the other races, the conditions where not the best but however, our athletes managed to still get an impressive result for team Malta!
Men’s Up & Down Elite Race:
pos 38. MICALLEF Luke MLT 1:19:12
pos 56. TANTI Aidan MLT 1:28:57
All the detailed results can be accessed here
Year after year, our national team keeps improving drastically during these races, and this year we have seen the best results yet for team Malta in these competitions.
We wish to congratulate our Maltese contingent for the amazing results and accomplishments … cheers for more, you made us proud!
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