The annual awards of the Malta Weightlifting Association were held earlier this month.
The ceremony was staged a bit different than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In fact, the awards were held inside the national team’s gym right after their training session and were only open for the athletes.
Tenishia Thornton received the most successful gong of day, the Diamond Award, for her high-ranking result in 2020, scoring 110.82 per cent in the Malta Weightlifting Association ranking.
Thornton had a historic year, winning Malta’s first ever medal in a world event after taking silver in the snatch and bronze overall in the online youth World Cup.
The young lifter also received the Most Achievement Award after she registered 175 records during 2020 in the U-15, U-17, U-20, U-23 and seniors categories.
Kim Camilleri Lagana won the silver ranking award when registering 84.6% along with Yazmin Zammit Stevens who recorded 80.51%, while Rylee Borg secured the Bronze ranking award with 77.91%.
The most improved award for female went to Thornton with 35.5 points while the men’s trophy for the most improved lifter went to Borg with 45.2 points
The Most Improved Female Newcomer award went to ten-year-old Julia Grima who managed a 61-point improvement on the previous year.
In the men’s division, the most improve lifter was Luke Treeby Ward who managed a massive 73-point improvement on 2019.
The Most Promising Award went to Mariah Bugeja for her constant achievement in recent years.
An award given for the first time this year was the one for all youth athletes that are advancing to a new age group.
Kim Camilleri Lagana and Aaliyah Gatt were given a certificate for their achievements in the U13 as they advanced to the U-15.
Thornton and Mariah Bugeja received a certificate to outline their many achievements in the U-15 as they moved to the U17 age group.
In a statement, the Malta Weightlifting Association showed their gratitude towards SportMalta and the Maltese Olympic Commitee for their continuous help throughout the year despite the huge challenges faced during the past 12 months.
