For another consecutive year, the MWA has competed at the Youth Weightlifting European Championsips, this time with a record number of athletes representing Malta at this year’s edition of the event. The team represnting Malta at the championships in Poland was made up of U15 lifter Kim Camilleri Lagana who competed in the 40kg category, U17 lifter Tenihsia Thornton who competed in the 55kg category, and U15 lifter Rylee Borg who competed in the 67kg category.
All three athletes finished in 7th place overall in the respective categories, with both Camilleri Lagana and Borg breaking several national records in the process. 13-year-old Kim was one of the youngest athletes competing in the U15 age group, but despite this, she managed to finish with a snatch of 41kg and a clean and jerk of 49kg. Her 90kg total put her in 7th place overall ahead of athletes from Poland and Slovakia.
Despite being a veteran in the sport of weightlifting, this was 15-year-old Rylee Borg’s first European Championships. Borg had an incredible competition, managing to finish 1st in the B group, surpassing second place by a whopping 13kg, and then finishing in 7th overall. He had a perfect performance, managing all 6 attempts, breaking 7 national records in the process. His best lifts at 86kg snatch and 105kg clean and jerk put him ahead of lifters from Poland, Finland, and Hungary.
2020 World Youth Silver medallist, Tenishia Thonrton, has been battling some knee injuries for the past few months which has held her back from her usual performances on the platform. Nonethless, the 15 year old athlete managed to finish in 7th overall in the 55kg category where she managed a power snatch at 63kg and a power clean and power jerk of 80kg. Her performance ranked her ahead of athletes from Latvia, Croatia , Poland, Czeck Repbulic and Denmark.
This competition would not be possible without the continuous help by the Maltese Olympic Committee and the Youth Development Program, Sport Malta and the MWA.