The remaining competition for the year in the Malta Weightlifting Federation calendar – the 2016 National Championship – was held at the Cottonera Sports Complex on Sunday.
The prestigious meet saw men and women lifters, from all age groups, engaged in a top-level competition where personal best lifts were registered and numerous national records broken.
Rylee Borg had another outstanding performance in the cadet category as he succeeded in totalling 131 points that earned him top spot in his division.
Borg was followed by Kyle Camilleri and Nicolai Muscat in the final rankings as Shelby Vassallo lifted 105kgs to claim theU-15 and U-17 titles for girls.
Kieran Mifsud was also remarkable on his first official showing following a year on the sidelines to nurse his injuries.
He went six for six, successfully lifting all his attempts in Snatch and Clean and Jerk, ending with an impressive total of 253kgs.
Mifsud won the U-17 and U-20 titles for the +94kgs category as well as the senior crown for the 105kgs class.
Impressively, he also set no fewer than 17 new records during the championship in both junior and senior categories, showing he’s back and even better than before, ready to continue where he left off in 2015.
Another young lifter to watch for the future, Owen Bugeja, won the U-17 and U-20 titles in the 94kg category. He also managed to place second overall in the same weight category in the senior group.
Andy Grech won the 77kgs category for the U-20s while Rebecca Fitz was the best U-20 lifter in 63kgs with a total of 106kgs – a mark good enough to earn her two new records.
Despite only managing two lifts, Yasmin Zammit Stevens still cleared the highest total in the Women’s Open – 159kgs.
Zammit Stevens also broke her own Clean and Jerk record in the 69kgs category, her 30th new mark for 2016 alone.
Other winners in different categories at the National Champion-ship were the upcoming trio of Elisia Scicluna, Jessica Ghigo and Kristen Borg.
In the men’s senior 77kgs competition, Michael Fava lifted a total of 188kgs as Vlad Baldacchino was the top lifter in the 94kgs category with 230kgs.
However, the best results for men belonged to Matthew Camilleri. He won the 85kgs category after a personal best lift and total of 239kgs.
This week, a team of lifters – six men and two women – will be flying to London to represent the country at an international tournament.