First competition for clubs

Four teams took part in the first competition for clubs organised earlier this month by the Malta Weightlifting Association at the Cottonera Sports Complex.

Cottonera Club fielded 11 lifters and gained 2,143 points overall, placing first in the final standings.

Nobel Club garnered 1,129 points. They had seven lifters in the competition. Starmax competed with five athletes and finished third with 1,030 points ahead of Falcons who managed 843 points.

Five of the lifters taking part were female and 15 others were from the U-16 class.

Destiny Vella Busuttil was the star lifter of the event as she established no fewer than 14 national records in the 63kg category, seven new marks in youths and the rest in juniors.

Clint Grech, of Cottonera Club, was the best lifter overall.

He gained 249 points in all to finish just ahead of Nobel’s Matthew Muscat Inglott, 248.

Third-placed Rodmar Pulis was close behind on 246 points.

Nicole Gatt, of Starmax, had 116 points followed by Rodianne Balzan (Cottonera), 105, and Vella Busuttil, 104.

Results from the clubs com-petition at Cottonera will now be relayed to the relevant authorities abroad for Maltese weightlifters to compete in international tourn-aments organised by Oceana Federation.

The competition was run by Malta Weightlifting Asso-ciation president Jesmond Caruana, referees Alfred Ellul Mercer, Simon Brincat, Ramona Camenzuli and Gayle Caruana, and a host of volunteers.

The organisers were also assisted by Kunsill Malti għall-Isport and the International Weightlifting Federation.