Records set at Malta Weightlifting Association Annual Team event

The Malta Weightlifting Association (MWA) hosted its much-anticipated Annual Malta Team event last weekend at the newly inaugurated National Weightlifting Centre within the Marsa Sports Complex.

The competition drew a strong turnout, particularly from emerging youth talent, underscoring the sport’s rapid growth and development in Malta.

The team-based format created a high-pressure environment where every lift counted towards overall points, keeping tension high throughout the day.

Tenishia Thornton stole the spotlight, delivering a flawless six-out-of-six performance and shattering national records in both the junior and senior categories.

Thornton set new marks of 91kg in the Snatch, 114kg in the Clean & Jerk, and a 205kg total.

In the Youth category, Aaliyah Gatt raised the bar with new national records of 67kg Snatch and 90kg Clean & Jerk.

Fresh from her bronze medal win at the European Youth Championships, Kim Camilleri Lagana maintained her momentum with lifts of 66kg in the Snatch and 90kg in the Clean & Jerk, showing remarkable consistency on the platform.

Top men’s honours went to Rylee Borg, who totaled 272kg for 331 points.

He was closely followed by Shaun Ciantar with 265kg (304 points) and Luke Treeby Ward with 224kg (266 points).

Noteworthy performances from debutants came from Luke Stefan Micallef (117kg, 260 points) and Nathaniel Fenech (195kg, 252 points).

In the men’s Youth division, Nathan Mifsud impressed with a 180kg total and 286 points, ahead of Nathan Balzan (214 points) and Gabriele Frendo (210 points).

The Under-13 girls’ category saw Emily Livori secure first place with 120 points, followed by Mia Sant with 113 points.

In a statement, MWA president Jesmond Caruana praised the athletes’ determination.

“The performances we saw today, especially from our youth lifters, are proof that Maltese weightlifting is on the rise. Our new facility will only accelerate this progress,” he said.

Standings: 1. Iron Titans 1,679 points; 2. The Unbreakables 1,611 points; 3. PR Warriors  1,563 points