The annual MWA National Championships was successfully organised this past weekend with top results from Tenishia Thornton (59kg) and Anton Micallef (81kg).
The cadet competition was the first one on the schedule and saw NSS student Nathan Mifsud being named National Champion in this age group followed by Luca Said in second place. Mifsud finished the competition with 47kg in the snatch and 57kg in the clean and jerk weighing in just under 43kg, breaking 6 national records in the process.
In the Women’s 49kg category, Aaliyah Gatt was named National champion for all age groups ranging between U-15 and senior after managing to lift a snatch of 50kg and a clean and jerk of 64kg. Kaya Curmin Inguanez followed Gatt in second place in age groups ranging from U-15 to U-20 after finishing with a total of just 2kg under Gatt’s 114kg.
The women’s 59kg was dominated by Malta’s very own World Youth Champion, Tenishia Thornton. With success after success, the national championships were no exception for the 17 year old. She finished with 82kg in the snatch and then managed a new national record clean and jerk of 102kg. Her 184kg total is also equal her best in this weight class. Thonton’s total was the highest one for the day across all weight categories.
The 71kg weight class was won by Monica Swayne. She managed a snatch of 67kg followed by a clean and jerk of 84kg.
In the men’s 73kg category, 16 year old Rylee Borg managed a whopping total of 222kg after finishing with a 102kg snatch and 120kg clean and jerk. Hs 102kg effort in the snatch was enough to break the U-23, U-20 and U-17 national record in this weight class.
Anton Micallef was named the 81kg national champion after an excleent performance on Sunday. He managed a national record snatch of 118kg followed by a 140kg clean and jerk which he managed on his opening attempt. He attempted 143kg on his second which got called out for a press out, and went on to attempt 146kg on his third but was unsuccessful.
The men’s 89kg weight category was won by Shaun Ciantar after finishing with a 108kg snatch and a new personal best clean and jerk of 136kg.
After being out of the scene for a while due to injury, Vlad Baldacchino made his return debut in the 96kg category where he managed a 125kg snatch and a 130kg clean and jerk. Baldacchino was named the national champion in this weight class.
Several other athletes who competed on Sunday did not reach the benchmark set by MWA in order to be ranked officially, and were awarded a participation trophy for their efforts.
While this is the last national meet that shall be organsied by the MWA for 2022, this will not be the last competition for our local athletes this year. Tenishia Thornton is set to compete, yet again, in the World Championships in a few weeks time. After being named World Youth Champion in the 55kg category, and ranked in 7th in the World junior Championships earlier this year, she will now compete in the senior, Olympic qualification event in Bogota Colombia in December. Tenishia will be accompanied by national team coach Jesmond Caruana, and this will be the final event for the MWA this year.