Malta Weightlifting Association

The Malta Weightlifting Association (MWA) organised the National Championships at the Cottonera Sorts Complex.

The annual Championships was also the last local meet of 2021 and saw several national records being broken in numerous weight categories and age groups.

The Male 73kg senior weight category saw a close fight between three lifters for the overall title that was eventually won by Shaun Ciantar with his 224kg total. 

Ciantar was not only crowned the 73kg National Champion but broke 2 national records with his second (123kg) and third attempt (127kg) in the clean and jerk in the process. 

He was followed by Youth lifter Rylee Borg in second place and Matthew Abela in 3rd.

Although placing in 2nd place in the senior age category, NSS student Rylee Borg won the 73kg National Champion title in all age categories up to the U20 at only 15 years of age. 

Borg had one of the most impressive showings of the day ending with 92kg in the snatch and 115kg in the clean and jerk which is a massive improvement over his total from last year. 

Not only were his lifts good enough to break several national records in the U-15 and U-17 age categories, but his 115kg clean and jerk along with the 207kg total also broke the NR for the U-20 age group.

Anton Micallef, an athlete who is currently preparing to compete at the World/Commonwealth Championships next week, dominated the 81kg weight category, breaking his own snatch national record in the process. 

Micallef finished with 117kg in the snatch and 138kg in the clean and jerk to win the title of 81kg National Champion. 

Veteran athlete turned coach, Rodmar Pulis, managed to finish in second place in this weight category with this 227kg total where he out-lifted Ryan Degiorgio by only 1 kg. 

Degiorgio ranked in 3rd place overall after managing a 101kg snatch and 125kg in the clean and jerk. 

Another athlete preparing for the upcoming World/Commonwealth Championships, Vlad Baldacchino won the 109kg National Champion title with this 288kg total. His 131kg snatch and 288kg total were also good enough for a new national record in this weight class.

Matthew Camilleri managed to win the title in the 89kg weight category where he managed a total of 225kg.

The best female result came in the 71kg weight category where Olympian Yazmin Zammit Stevens managed a snatch of 87kg and clean and jerk of 106kg. 

Zammit Stevens will be 1 of 3 female lifters competing at the upcoming World/Commonwealth Championships. 

Tenishia Thornton, who will also be competing at these championships, won the senior National Champion title in the 59kg weight category where she managed a snatch of 72kg and clean and jerk of 87kg. 

She also won the overall title in the U-20 and U-17 age categories, her results were good enough for a new national records in this weight class in all different age groups. 

The 2020 Silver World Youth Medallist had been suffering a knee injury for several months but has recently shown massive growth in the right direction as she continues to prepare for major international competitions. 

Other respectable results in the female groups came from youth lifters Kim Camilleri Lagana who won the 40kg U-15 and U-17 age groups with 40kg snatch and 56kg in the clean and jerk. Her 56kg snatch also marked a new national record in both age categories. 

Aaliyah Gat won the 45kg title in the U-15 and U-17 with her 39kg snatch attempt and 54kg clean and jerk. 

In the Cadet Age category; 11-year-old NSS student Nathan Mifsud won the title of National Champion finishing with a 37kg snatch and 47kg clean and jerk. 

He was followed by Luca Said in second place, and Nathan Balzan in third. 

Julia Grima won the female cadet age category where she managed a snatch of 42kg and a 55kg clean and jerk. Mariah Bugeja won the 71kg U-17 age category with her 115kg total. 

The above-mentioned Vlad Baldacchino, Anton Micallef, Yazmin Zammit Stevens, and Tenishia Thornton will be joined by Roberta Tabone for the World/Commonwealth Championships commencing next week.

The participating athletes will be accompanied by national team coaches Jesmond Caruana and Matthew Camilleri. 

These championships will mark one of the final stages of the qualification process for the Commonwealth Games set to take place next summer in Birmingham. 

While the MWA has been represented by a single athlete in the past editions of said games, it hoped to have a more numerous teams qualifying for the Games in 2022. 

Thornton will be the first to compete in the 55kg weight category, followed by Zammit Stevens in the 64kg class, Micallef in the 81kg, Tabone in 71kg, and finally Baldacchino in the 109kg weight category.