by Coached by Matt Azzopardi and Kevin Zammit, David Micallef made history by finishing the ‘Double Ultra Triathlon’ (or ‘Double Ironman’) in 23 hours and 49 minutes. Perseverance through tests of physicality and mental toughness led to the national-breaking performance, becoming the first-ever Maltese team to finish the triathlon in under 24 hours.
A Record-Breaking Performance
The ‘Double Ultra Triathlon’ was held in Germany a few days ago which saw titans take on a sweeping trio of challenges. It is no mean feat, the triathlon opens with a swim of 7.6 km, followed by a 360 km bike ride, before finishing with a run of just under 85 km to the finish line.
Hailing from Mgarr, David Micallef took on this triathlon and in doing so etched his name in Malta’s record books by breaking the country’s record after finishing in 23 hours and 49 minutes.
Doing so landed him in fourth place out of thirty-two participants. His finish followed that of Leopold Weinsheimer from Germany, who was led by the two Polish internationals, Waldemar Conczak and Pawel Najmowicz.
Micallef stepped up to the challenge after having previously completed the shorter ‘Ironman Triathlon’ in Dubai in 2021 and in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, last year.
Fighting Through the Pain and Exhaustion
Speaking to The Sporting Fan about preparations leading up to the event Micallef praised the preparation done with swimming coach Matt Azzopardi and Triathlon coach Kevin Zammit. Micallef said, “It took eight months of continuous physical and mental preparation to feel ready to compete in the event.”
Asked about the difficulty to complete such a grueling feat in record time, Micallef elaborated, “The swim consists of a length equal to one-hundred and fifty-two Olympic pools, which I managed to finish in a better time than expected. This gave me a lot of confidence to go into the bike ride.” Micallef said that even with this belief, the bike ride proved tough in itself, “The first 90 km of the ride were extremely difficult, but as time passed, I improved my consistency and finished a quarter of an hour before the expected time.”
At this point, Micallef had been competing for over fourteen hours. He still faced the final portion consisting of running a total distance of 84.4 km, which according to Micallef was a true test of perseverance and determination to reach the finish line. It was when he faced his biggest demons and leaned on the support of those around him to forge ahead. “I felt completely drained after completing 25 km of the run, which meant I still faced 60 km more to finish the triathlon. As I faced that dilemma of whether to stop or persevere through, it was the support of coaches Kevin and Matt that gave me the strength to carry on until the end.”
Reflecting on the learnings taken from being pushed to the limit Micallef said, “I learned that in life you should never give up. There were moments when I was certain that I was not going to reach the finish line. However, despite this, I managed to do so with the support of others and perseverance to push to the next step and the one after and the one after. Eventually, I saw the finish line.”
Relief & Elation
That effort paid dividends as Micallef reached the finish line in record time. Probed about the memorable moment (which can be viewed here), Micallef said, “I will never forget the satisfaction felt as we crossed the finish line and realised we became the first Maltese team to complete the Double Ironman in less than twenty-four hours.”
Reflecting on this achievement, David Micallef hailed the support received from those close to him. This included coaches Matt Azzopardi and Kevin Zammit, as well as Fabio Spiteri and Patrick Scicluna who offered sage advice, and finally his family for their patience and support.
Photos: David Micallef
