Luca Vella wins Garmin Malta-Gozo-Malta race

Near-perfect weather conditions greeted nearly 100 swimmers who participated in the Garmin Malta-Gozo-Malta and Garmin Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competitions held over the weekend.

After a year’s absence, the highly anticipated open water channel swim attracted a strong mix of local and international competitors.

In the 11km Malta-Gozo-Malta race, Luca Vella took the top spot with a time of two hours, 33 minutes, and one second.

Currently the Open Water Swimming national champion, Vella is known for his dominance in the local open water competitive swimming scene, this was Vella’s first attempt at this particular distance.

He maintained a solid lead ahead of second-placed Ioannis Koumarelas and third-placed Bernard Farrugia, who achieved a personal best time. Rosalia Segarra, the only female competitor in this category, completed the race in four hours, three minutes, and 11 seconds.

The 6km Gozo-Malta leg drew a diverse international field.

Category A – reserved for individual swimmers without an escort boat, saw Jonathan Sammut emerge victorious, finishing in one hour, 33 minutes, and 54 seconds.

He was followed closely by John Scicluna, with Blue Whittaker securing third place.

On the women’s side, Nicola Lee claimed first place with a time of one hour, 40 minutes, and 19 seconds, followed by Lisa Hibberd and Lisa Mische Lawson.

Additional categories catered to swimmers accompanied by escort boats or those competing as part of a group with an escort boat.

Trophies for the Overall and Age Group winners were presented by Mark Gaglione, representative of Medcomms Ltd, the brand representative of Garmin in Malta.

“We are thrilled with this year’s channel swim participation. The renewed interest from international swimmers, who spoke highly of the event, bodes well for future editions,” said Euchar Camilleri, Secretary General of Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club.

He also expressed gratitude to Gaglione for his ongoing support.

The club extended thanks to Transport Malta and the Armed Forces of Malta for their collaboration and support in making the event a success.