A team of three athletes represented Malta at the European Union Weightlifting Championship for Youths, held on the 19th and 20th June and held in Rome, Italy. A total of fourteen countries participated, and for the Maltese national team it was the first time it took part in this event.. The competitions where spread over two days, with athletes Kieran Mifsud, Owen Bugeja and Sarah Grixti taking part and leaving their mark at what turned out to be a high level of competition. For Grixti, this was her first ever international competition abroad and even with such pressure, she managed to remain calm and composed and completed all of her six lifts successfully, finishing with a total of 113kg.
The best result come from fifteen year old Kieran Mifsud, who also managed to successfully lift all of his six attempts, lifting a total of 236kg, and subsequently placing 4th. First place went to Poland followed by Italy and Austria. The powerful Mifsud lifted 28kg more than his closest rival who represented Austria, however was unfortunate to have missed out on a place on the podium due being the heavier lifter in terms of bodyweight, which then earned his rival just 6 more points. Mifsud also managed to break the total of 18 national records in Snatch, Clean and Jerk and total in the under 17 and under 20.
The athletes where under the guidance of their coach Jesmond Caruana. Gayle Caruana was selected from the EUWC for the duty of Technical official.
This competition would not have been made possible without the help of the EUWC, Malta Olympic Committee and Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport.