The Malta Weightlifting Association has participated in the European Juniors & U23 Weightlifting Championships, at Klaipeda, Lithuania. Representing Malta were Rodmar Pulis and Kieran Mifsud competing in the U23 and Junior sections respectively. In this competition, the Maltese athletes were up against more than 250 athletes from 39 countries.
First on the platform was Rodmar Pulis whom with great form has managed to break the 77kg category seniors National Record in the Clean and Jerk which stood strong for more than 13 years. Pulis successfully lifted 108kg Snatch and 141kg Clean and Jerk to record a total of 249kg earning him the 9th place in Europe. Pulis’ blinder performance has enabled him to top athletes from countries like Poland, Albania, Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania and others.
Next up was Keiran Mifsud who despite being one of the youngest athlete in his category didn’t fail to impress on his debut in the European scene. Mifsud competed in the 94kg category for Juniors (U20) and earned valuable experience for the next international events. On the final ranking Kieran has surpassed athletes from Estonia, Russia, Romania and Albania among others. Throughout their stay, the Maltese athletes had to opportunity to train with several Olympians who are preparing for Rio 2016.
The Maltese athletes were accompanied by the president of the MWA, Jesmond Caruana, who also served as an official throughout the championships. During his stay Mr. Caruana participated in the annual congress and technical and scientific committee meetings where he bid and won the right for Malta to organize the European Union Championships in 2016.
Such results inaugurate well for the future of this discipline in Malta and wouldn’t have been possible without the constant support from the IWF, EWF, SportMalta and the MOC.