Grech sets record to start year on a high
Five juniors show progress
The first competition of the 2009 season by the Malta Weightlifting Federation was held recently at the newly-refurbished weightlifting centre inside the Cottonera Sports Complex, the venue for the European tournament for small nations on May 1.
Top-ranked lifter Clint Grech began his 2009 commitments with a bang. He established a new national record of 115kg in the clean and jerk to win the competition.
Grech, 22, seems to be back to his best and is highly focused for the upcoming events this year, namely the European tournament for small nations in May and the Mediterranean Games a month later.
During the competition, Grech lifted in the 69kg category, hoisting 200kg in the process to position himself as the best overall lifter.
Second-ranked was Emanuel Schembri. A physiotherapist by profession, Schembri, 22, was close to setting the second national record of the day, nearly missing a 'clean and jerk' lift of 151kg. Competing in the super heavyweight division, Schembri lifted a total of 245kgs.
Veteran Stephen Borg, 32, was third with a total of 185kg in the 85kg class. In the same category, junior Christian Saliba, 16, totaled 167kg.
Another significant aspect of the competition was the participation of five juniors, all improving on their previous performances, both in total and technique.
These were: Patrick Bonello, 16, 78kg in the 56kg category; Clint Sammut, 18, 125kg in the 77 kg category; Rodmar Pulis, 14, 100kg in the 85kg category; Mark Sapiano, 17, 126kg in the 94 kg category; and Clyde Sammut, 17, 95kg in the 105kg category.