Jeremy Saywell, Joanna Camilleri and Marcon Bezzina retained their respective titles at the National Championships, held recently at the Cottonera Sports Complex.
Saywell won the -66kgs category and Camilleri took the honours in the -57kgs class. Bezzina again proved too strong for the rest in the women’s -63kgs competition.
This year, the Malta Judo Federation continued to invest in their elite athletes.
The training received by Saywell, Camilleri and Bezzina, coupled with the experience they gathered from international events along the season, was very much in evidence on the mat as all three enjoyed the edge over their opponents in most of their bouts.
Again, the championships started off with the youngest group as the Dragons, aged 11 and under, displayed their skills.
The aim of the federation is to allow young judokas to take part in the championships without exerting pressure on them to win bouts as emphasis is laid on technique and participation.
In a statement, the federation said MJF president Envic Galea and sports director Alex Bezzina were impressed with the talent emerging from various clubs within their fold.
According to the federation, among those who shone during the National Championships were Gabriel Debono (Malta Judo Academy) and Cormack Spiteri (Tigne Judo Club).
Debono eliminated four judokas on his way to winning the -55kgs Espoir category.
He also placed second in the -55kgs for cadets after losing the decisive bout to Alexander Esposito (Tigne Judo Club).
Spiteri left his mark after winning the -60kgs for cadets and the -81kgs in the same category.
Despite weighing 18kgs less than his opponent, Spiteri succeeded in throwing Francesco Aufieri for Wazari in the -81kgs class. He then had the better of Alessio Muscat (Kinsu Judo Club) to clinch the title.
Aufieri has just changed weight class and is adapting to the heavier division. He made up for his upset to Spiteri by winning the -90kgs category for cadets.
While showing their appreciation to the coaches, the federation also said that the next important date on their agenda is the Annual General Meeting.
The organisation is looking forward to another eventful year, hoping that finally they will have a place they can call their own to train and prepare judokas.