Mellieħa and Pembroke Athleta are the new Malta Club Champions
Mellieħa AC’s Dillon Cassar and Pembroke Athleta’s Lisa Marie Bezzina triumphed in this
year’s Road Running Series winning the fourth and final race in spectacular fashion, with
both athletes establishing a stunning new national record in the process.
Malta’s Road Running Series, hosted by Athletics Malta after a two-year hiatus, came to
an end in an exciting fashion with the Marsascala 5k, with all honours still up for grabs.
Dillon Cassar completed his third win from four races with a new national record of
14:41, six seconds ahead of Luke Micallef whose impressive race establishes the second
fastest ever timing locally. With one win and three second places, Micallef took second
spot in the overall series. Simon Spiteri (St. Patrick’s) was third in the final race and in
the overall classification.
The women’s Series came to an end in extraordinary fashion with Lisa Maria Bezzina
defeating the odds and claiming top spot in the final race for her second victory over
four races. Evolve’s Roberta Schembri, winner of the two other races, took second place
overall after her third place in Marsascala. Joelle Cortis, who pipped Schembri to second
place in the final 5k, settled for the final place on the podium.
For veteran athlete Bezzina, coached by Ivan Rozhnov, the 5k win came in a 17:15 timing
meant that she has established a new national record on the distance.
Besides these top performances, a number of age category records were also achieved
in this final race, records which are now considered as official given that the national
association secured international recognition and certification of the route.
The completion of the four legs also established Malta’s new club champions, with
Mellieħa AC and Pembroke Athleta taking the honours in the male and female
categories respectively.
Following the completion of the series, Malta’s elite athletes now turn their focus on the
track for their final preparations towards GSSE 2023.
