It was a momentuous achievement for Spiteri, who became the first-ever Maltese ultra-triathlete to achieve this feat and further rubberstamped his status as one of the legendary figures in Maltese sporting history.
Spiteri completed the race in a time of 530 hours, 51 minutes and four seconds and placed fourth overall from eight athletes and became only the 34th person to finish the race in the history of the sport.
“I have just completed the Double Deca to become the first Maltese to finish this race,” Spiteri told Times of Malta.
“The race was full of challenges but I felt really strong. The toughest part was the final 100km where I suffered an injury in my shins and I could not run any longer and I ended up walking the final distance of the race.
“I am really proud with my performance and the time achieved, as I finished the race in 22 days and three hours.
“It was a demanding race, and I have no plans to repeat this experience as this race goes beyond my limit, and I plan to return to deca racing.
“I hope that this achievement has inspired many people back home, and I appeal to everyone to donate for my Project 100 project, where I am trying to raise funds to buy hundreds of medicine for animal shelters in Malta and Gozo.”
Spiteri swam 76 kilometres, which is equivalent to swimming around Malta.
Then he embarked on a 3,600km bike segment, which is equal to cycling around Sicily four times.
The physical toll of this demanding race started to show in the running segment, where participants were asked to run 844km, which is equivalent to one loop around Sicily.
Spiteri completed the final 84 kilometres of his run in severe pain as he was battling severe inflammation.
But his never-say-die attitude has carried him through once more to cross the finish line in fourth place.
Poland’s Jurand Czabanski won the race in 413 hours, 54 minutes, and 27 seconds.
Second place went to France’s Goulween Tristan (516: 38.25) while Czech Republic ultra-triathlete Jurica Tarca completed the podium in 519:38.29.
Spiteri’s participation in the double deca is not just to fulfil his sporting ambition but there is also a noble cause.
His main objective was to once again raise funds for animal shelters.
Last year, he managed to collect a record €110,500 and this time around he is hoping to break that mark and is appealing to the public for their generosity for this noble cause.
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