The Maltese National Weightlifting team recently participated in the 38th European Small Nations Weightlifting Tournament together with the host country Cyprus, Monaco, Luxemburg and Iceland. A team from Israel was also invited as a guest.
First to perform was the female team, consisting of Pamela Psaila and Yazmin Zammit Stevens who both had excellent performances. Pamela lifted a total of 143kg, including 3 national records, while Yazmin lifted a total of 145kg breaking another 5 national records. This meant they got a total of 380 points, finishing in 3rd place, just a few points short of the runners up, Iceland. The competition was won by the home team, Cyprus. 4th and 5th places were taken by Monaco and Luxemburg respectively.
In the second competition, Kyle Micallef, Rodmar Pulis and Ryan Agius competed against the other athletes to secure third place in this tournament with 937 points, following Iceland who scored 995 points, and Cyprus with 1130 points. 4th and 5th places went to Luxemburg and Monaco respectively. In this competition, the Maltese athletes also performed brilliantly, with a new senior national record, and personal bests for all athletes. Kyle lifted a total of 271kg, breaking the snatch national record in the 94kg category, which has been standing for 12 years, and a 9kg personal best in his total. Rodmar lifted a total of 256kg which is a personal best of 7kg in competition total. Ryan lifted a total of 246kg, along with a competition personal best in the snatch.
Along with the Mediterranean Cup held two weeks ago, this was another solid performance for Rodmar Pulis who in the next weeks will be representing Malta for the first time in the European Seniors Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway. These results greatly improve Pulis’ chances of qualifying for the Rio Olympic Games.
In Cyprus the athletes were accompanied by the MWA National coach Jesmond Caruana. During his stay Caruana had several meetings regarding future collaborations and projects, including the possibility of Malta organizing next year’s edition of the European Small Nations Tournament.
Malta’s participation in this competition was possible thanks to the constant support received by the Maltese Olympic Committee and SportMalta.