Lisa Marie Bezzina third in Over 40 age group at Sevilla marathon

National athlete Lisa Bezzina debuted on the full marathon distance on Sunday morning in Seville.

The 2019 GSSE double gold medallist clocked a formidable time of two hours 48 minutes 54 seconds, claiming third spot in the women’s over 40 category among over 8,000 athletes from all over the world.

This performance is a notable one for the Maltese athlete, a double gold-medal winner at previous GSSE games for Malta, who tested out the full distance for the first time in her illustrious career. The timing is the third-best ever for any Maltese female athlete, and the fastest time for some 20 years.

Coincidentally, Bezzina, had set her half marathon national record in the same city, back in 2020, completing the distance in a time of one hour 17 minutes and seven seconds

Bezzina will be in action in the Barcelona half marathon in April, before focusing the final part of the season on track in preparation for the Championships of Small States of Europe to be held in Malta in June.

The Seville marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label race, was dominated by Ethiopians, who claimed top three places, with Alemu Megertu claiming top spot.

Lisa Bezzina, who runs under the tutelage of experienced coach Ivan Rozhnov, expressed her delight in her first comments from Spain: “I am truly happy with my performance in Seville, considering this was my first-ever full marathon. This was a great experience, and this result will push me further for the remaining part of the season”.

Bezzina’s participation in the Seville marathon was supported by Athletics Malta, SportMalta and the Malta Olympic Committee.