The Malta Weightlifting Association’s quest to secure a qualifying berth for the next Commonwealth Games got off to a flying start in Malaysia, last weekend.

Yazmin Zammit Stevens and Kyle Micallef made the trip to Penang to compete against lifters from 22 other countries, all vying for a place at the 2018 Games, to be staged in Australia.

Zammit Stevens was making her first showing at this level but she was not overwhelmed by the occasion, completing all her Snatch attempts for a maximum of 75kgs.

She extended her momentum to Clean and Jerk and was successful in two out of her three attempts. Her maximum was 91kgs for a total of 166kgs.

This was an important milestone for Zammit Stevens as she was classified in sixth position out of a group of 11 lifters, also earning her a MQS for next year’s Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain.

By the end of the competition, Zammit Stevens had also established no fewer than seven national records in the 63kg category.

Her next international assignment will be the European Under-23 Championships, in Israel, in December.

Micallef also started well in his competition, completing two out of three Snatch attempts and setting a new national record in the 85kg category in the process – 122kg.

He then left it until his last attempt in Clean and Jerk to secure a total, hoisting 149kg and finishing with 271kg.

He finished sixth overall among 17 lifters.

Commonwealth slot

Micallef’s result was also good enough to earn him one of the qualifying places for the Commonwealth Games.

He also set three other national records, one of which had stood for over 10 years.

In Malaysia, the Maltese team was accompanied by national coach Jesmond Caruana.

Caruana acted as technical official for both the Commonwealth Championships and the World Youth Championships.