Super local veteran athlete Fabio Spiteri is once again on a super challenging feat while targeting the sum of €100,000 for local animal sanctuaries. This site sends its best of luck!

By Marica Micallef

The super, local, veteran, 48-year-old triathlete and athlete Fabio Spiteri is not only well-known locally as a top athlete but he is also making a name for Malta, abroad.

Fabio Spiteri is a triathlete who used to be a runner. Two decades ago, he competed in 400m, 800m, and 1500m races, winning several national 800m titles as well as two bronze medals in Small Nation games. He eventually switched to triathlon and has completed 21 Half Ironman and 8 Full Ironman races. Fabio has set two national records in recent years: the Double Ironman (7.6km swim, 360km bike, 84km run in 26hrs 38 mins) and the Triple Ironman World Championships (11.6km swim, 560km bike, 126km run in 45hrs 44mins).

He was also awarded as one of the fittest athlete on the island at 48 years of age which is of an encouragement to all of those who think that it is too late to start doing sport or get fit.

Fabio Spiteri is also a running and triathlon coach so he endorses this philosophy with his athletes. He has launched the Project 40+ for all those over 40 who would like to start getting active and serious about their health:

Last year, on Friday 1st July, the veteran triathlete “became the first Maltese to complete a daunting Quintuple when crossing the finish line in Colmar, France” as was reported by the Times of Malta.

This meant that he is the first Maltese to manage to complete five successive ironmans in the space of five days, despite suffering from swollen feet, blisters and the struggle in the run, which is understandable considering this huge feat. For those who are not into the knowhow of triathlon or sport, the ironman race is an event made up of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run which has to be completed in a time limit of 17 hours with cut off times for each leg. Spiteri did five of these in five days in a time of 111 hours 30 minutes and 57 seconds, placing seventh overall among 16 participants! What a remarkable feat!

However, Spiteri is not only doing this as part of his journey in achieving personal dreams and goals. Spiteri is also doing this for animals and local sanctuaries. By completing this quintuple, Spiteri had managed to raise €80,000 for local animal shelters. The funds were distributed via RAR – Real Animal Rights Foundation, a charitable organisation.

Spiteri has also quite a number of pets at home, one of which is Stevie, the blind springer spaniel which he adopted in 2021 which increased my admiration towards him as it reminded me of my special, blind souldog, Tinker, which I had adopted from the MSPCA back in 2010 as a pup born blind, and which left me suddenly and unexpectedly on 2nd August 2021.

This year Spiteri is on the road to Deca which will be held in Brasil between 20th May and 3rd June, which means doing 10x ironman in 10 days. And for this feat, his goal is to raise €100,000 for animal shelters. This is a noble gesture from Spiteri, albeit he is of the opinion that money won’t be the overall solution to address issues that animal shelters face. He is on record stating that “the situation is out of control” and that “animal lovers and the government need to work [together].” However, for local animal sanctuaries to have funds so that they can keep up with the costs of taking care of a whole sanctuary, with vet bills, medication, food, water and utility bills, this is manna from heaven!

While this site wishes Fabio Spiteri all the best in completing this difficult feat, while he is surely raising the Maltese flag abroad, this site would also like to encourage the public, companies, restaurants, businesses, offices, and institutions to join forces and donate in this noble cause for the voiceless.

Should you wish to help Fabio’s cause, here are some ways you can donate:

• Revolut: +356 99816248
• Paypal: rarmalta@gmail.com or https://paypal.me/RealAnimalRights?locale.x=en_US
• SMS donations:
  • € 2.33 | 50617312
  • € 4.66 | 50618075
  • € 6.99 | 50618923
  • € 11.65 | 50619260
• Bank Transfer:
  • BOV IBAN : MT40VALL22013000000050010082877