The Malta Weightlifting Association successfully hosted the Malta Open Championships at the Marsa Sport Complex, delivering an exciting day of competition that showcased both outstanding performances and a record number of young athletes taking to the platform.
One of the standout performances came from 16-year-old Nathan Mifsud, who dominated the U17 category with a flawless six-from-six performance. Mifsud lifted 100kg, 103kg and 106kg in the Snatch, before completing 118kg, 121kg and 124kg in the Clean & Jerk, finishing with a total of 230kg and 336 Sinclair points. His impressive performance also earned him second place in both the Junior and Senior divisions, while setting four new national records. Mifsud is now entering the final phase of preparations for the World Youth Championships in Colombia, which take place in just three weeks.
Rylee Borg once again demonstrated his class by winning both the Junior and Senior titles. Borg also completed all six lifts successfully, finishing with a total of 290kg and 354 Sinclair points. He is currently preparing for a series of high-level international competitions in the coming weeks.
Mifsud claimed second place overall, while Luke Stefan Micallef secured third with a total lift of 224kg and 330 points. Nathaniel Fenech made a strong start with opening lifts of 107kg in the Snatch and 140kg in the Clean & Jerk, but narrowly missed his remaining attempts to finish fourth with a total of 247kg and 313 points.
In the women’s competition, Tenishia Thornton was crowned Best Female Athlete after an excellent six-from-six performance, lifting a total of 186kg for 233 Sinclair points. Rheanna Briffa also impressed with one of her strongest competitions to date, securing second place with 128kg and 191 points.
Among the younger athletes, Emily Livori claimed the U17 title with a total of 103kg and 160 points, while Gabriele Frendo won the U15 category with a total lift of 171kg and 233 points.
The future of Maltese weightlifting was also on full display in the Boys U12 categories, Danny Camilleri scores – 122 points, Samir Geriwa – 100 points, Matthias Zammit – 62 points.
Girls U12, Cayenne Mizzi – 98 points, Zeyah Vassallo – 83 points, Ellie Mallia – 58 points
