Veteran triathlete Danica Bonello Spiteri was denied the chance to represent Malta at the European Championships in Istanbul on Saturday due to a registration error on her application.
Bonello Spiteri was due to be on the starting line of Saturday’s Sprint Race in the Turkish capital.
But two days before she arrived in Istanbul, Bonello Spiteri found out about her omission when she was checking the starting lists, and was informed that the Malta Triathlon Federation, which is responsible for her application to compete, had erroneously listed her to take part in Sunday’s Olympic Distance rather than the Sprint race.
“This is a bitter pill to swallow,” Bonello Spiteri told the Times of Malta.
“I have been training for this event the whole summer, and to be denied a place on the starting line for such a genuine error hurts a lot.
“We only got to know about the error two days before the race, and I immediately got in touch with the Malta Triathlon Federation to try and amend the error. I also approached the organisers to explain the situation and try and arrange it.
“There was no way for me to compete in the Olympic distance race, as first of all, you need a completely different kind of training preparation, and secondly, I already had my travel arrangements done and I am due to return to Malta on Sunday morning.”
Bonello Spiteri said that she has nothing against the Malta Triathlon Federation and she recognises that it was a genuine human error, but the event
left a huge emotional effect on her.
“Since I got to know that I couldn’t compete in the Sprint Race, it’s been really emotional,” Bonello Spiteri, who had won gold in her age group in the last edition of the European Championship, said.
“I spent all night awake crying, as it’s a huge disappointment. I did try to speak to the organisers with no success.
“Actually, I thought that I would be able to fix things up as I collected my race number as advised by the race organiser, and took my bike to the Sprint race transition area. But that was seen as a breach by the organisers and the race judge, given that I was not registered for the race, and they informed me that I couldn’t take part as I had broken race rules with my actions.”
On their part, the Malta Triathlon Federation issued a statement to express their regret at the incident and apologised to Bonello Spiteri and her team.
“On behalf of the Malta Triathlon Federation (MTF), we wish to express our sincere regret regarding the unfortunate situation that occurred with athlete Dr. Danica Bonello Spiteri during the European Championships in Istanbul,” the statement said.
“The MTF officially supports athletes in such races, including the Istanbul Championships. The procedure followed is that athletes register through the Federation, cover the necessary fees, and are subsequently reimbursed once they present proof of flight expenses and race entry fees.
“These funds are then claimed by the Federation through Sport Malta.
“It is important to note that reimbursement is never promised or confirmed prior to the claim process, as athletes may only be refunded partially or fully depending on the procedure adopted by Sport Malta.
“Unfortunately, during the registration process, an administrative error was made.
“Dr Bonello Spiteri was mistakenly entered into the Standard (Olympic) distance race instead of the Sprint distance for which she had requested entry. This was an honest mistake that occurred through the race portal, and we are truly sorry for this error.”
The MTF said that as per protocol, athletes were advised by the federation to verify their starting lists, and in all stages of the registration process athletes are copied in communications.
“Unfortunately, this error was not identified either by Dr Bonello Spiteri or by the federation at that stage.
“The mistake only came to light on the day before the competition,” the MTF said.
“Upon realising the issue, Dr Bonello Spiteri, together with an MTF Executive Board official present in Istanbul, immediately contacted the Race Technical Delegate to request a correction.
“The Federation also followed up with repeated phone calls and emails.
“Dr Bonello Spiteri herself wrote directly to the organisers, explaining the situation respectfully and in detail.
“Regrettably, the responses received from the organisers were abrupt and negative. Despite the Federation’s further appeals, including one highlighting the fact that Dr. Bonello Spiteri is a highly experienced, loyal, and diligent triathlete, the organisers maintained their refusal to amend the race entry.
Rules’ breach
“Matters were further complicated when Dr. Bonello Spiteri placed her bike in the Sprint transition area in preparation for the race, in the genuine belief that her change would be accepted.
“The Head Referee viewed this as a breach of regulations and issued an official note describing it as an act of deception.
“We wish to clarify that Dr. Bonello Spiteri’s actions were never intended to deceive but rather to be prepared in the expectation that the correction would be granted.”
The MTF said that this outcome is deeply unfortunate.
“The Malta Triathlon Federation did everything in its capacity to resolve the matter, and we maintain our utmost respect for Dr Bonello Spiteri, both as a person and as one of Malta’s most accomplished triathletes.”
