Fabio Spiteri defies typhoon to place second overall in Taiwan Ultra Triathlon Deca race

Malta’s top ultratriathlon athlete, Fabio Spiteri, survived the dangers of Typhoon Fung-Wong to complete another amazing feat after placing second in the Taiwan Ultra Triathlon Deca race.

For Spiteri, this was his second participation in a Deca race, following his achievement of setting a new national record last July en route to finishing second in the Bretzel Ultra Triathlon Deca in Colmar, France.

The participating athletes faced a daunting challenge, as they had to swim 38 kilometres before embarking on a gruelling 1,800km bike segment, and then complete the feat by running 421.95km, which is equivalent to ten marathon races.

Spiteri managed to complete the race in 229 hours… which is four hours quicker than his national record. But his time cannot be recognised as the race was stopped for 24 hours due to the arrival of Typhoon Fung-Wong, which hit the Asian country.

Spiteri finished only behind France athlete Goulwent Tristant, who is a five-time Deca world champion, while topping his age group.

“I am delighted with my performance in the Deca race at the Taiwan Ultra Triathlon, which is the first race of this sort in Asia,” Spiteri told the Times of Malta.

“This is my second podium in a deca race this year, after last August, I managed to set a new national record on my way to finishing second at the Bretzel Ultra Triathlon Deca in Colmar, France.

“I had a great swimming segment as I managed to complete the 38km distance in 15 hours to place second overall. Then I started my bike leg, where I felt I was really strong and in fact I was racing at a very strong pace, and there were days where I cycled for 450km every day. That stint helped me to take the overall lead.

“In the middle of the cycling segment, all participants were forced to stop for 24 hours as Fung-Wong Typhoon hit the country, and we took shelter in one of their temples.”

Spiteri admitted that his run segment was the hardest of the three as he was struggling with muscular soreness.

“After completing the bike leg, I embarked on the run segment, which consisted of ten successive full marathons,” he said.

“During this stint, I struggled with physical condition as I felt sore in my thigh and groin so I had to switch to survival mode and try to adapt as best as I could to try and finish the race.

“Fortunately, I managed to retain my second-placing until the end of the race.”

Spiteri said that he was impressed by the organisation of the race, which he described the best he has every experienced in ultra triathlons.

“The organisation was really impressive,” he said.

“All athletes were given everything they need to recover from one day to another. We had a bed to sleep on, food was provided continuously, and there was an excellent lighting system throughout the whole route.

“As always, I am grateful for my support crew, as without their assistance, this result would not have been possible.

“Now it’s time for me to rest before planning fro next year’s race in Brazil.”

At the end of the interview, Spiteri expressed his gratitude to the sponsors who have supported him from the very beginning, including Royal Canin Malta, Cisk 0.0, Epic, and Garmin Malta.

He launched another appeal so that the general public can contribute to Project 100, which is aimed at supporting animal shelters in Malta.

Donations to Project 100 can be made through the following channels:

Revolut: +356 99816248

Paypal: rarmalta@gmail.com

Paypal: https://paypal.me/RealAnimalRights?locale.x=en_US

SMS donations: € 2.33 – 50617312; €4.66 – 50618075; €6.99 – 50618923; €11.65 – 50619260