Maltese sprint canoeist Christopher Camilleri recently returned from a two week training camp at the Nelo Training Centre in Oliveira do Douro – Cinfães, Portugal where he was preparing for the Mediterranean Games.   Here, Camilleri focused on improving his times in 500m, 1000m and 2000m sprints whilst becoming reacquainted with racing conditions.  Whilst training in fresh water,  the boat sits lower in the water making it inherintly slower and harder to paddle through than salt water. Camilleri was training up to four times a day, and his sessions not only included kayaking but also running and intensive gym sessions.

“It was tough but worth it”, this was the feeling of the kayakers when they returned to Marsamxett after an 18 hour kayak around the Maltese Archipelago. 

In what is considered to be a first in Maltese kayaking, on Friday, 3^rd April, four kayakers paddled around the Maltese islands as part of a series of fund raising events in aid of the Malta Cancer Foundation.

Two teams of kayakers, Dorian J. Vassallo and Albert Gambina, Mark Bugeja and Michael Gellel covered the distance of 60 nautical miles in 18 hours.  Starting at 4 a.m. from Marsamxett, the teams paddled south towards Filfla.  From there, the next destination was the inland sea in Gozo for a short break before continuing on their arduous journey, returning to Marsamxett at 10 p.m.