Yazmin Zammit Stevens prepares for one of her lifts in Israel.

Yazmin Zammit Stevens managed an overall ninth placing and returned home with new national records attached to her name following a fine performance at last week’s Junior and U-23 European Championships which were staged in Eilat, Israel.

In the 69kg category, Zammit Stevens started off with a close miss in the Snatch but quickly recovered to make both second and third attempts at 73kgs and 75kgs.

Feeling confident, she then performed the Clean and Jerk part of perfectly, getting all three of her attempts at 88kgs, 91kgs and 93kgs for a 168kgs total.

Zammit Stevens placed first in the B Group in the Snatch, Clean and Jerk and total, finishing ahead of lifters from Poland, Turkey, the Netherlands, Israel, Ireland, Czech Republic, Denmark and Finland in the process.

Overall, she classified a creditable ninth place with seven new national records, which now total 37 for her this season alone.

Jesmond Caruana, the Malta Weightlifting Association president, accompanied Zammit Stevens in Israel.

During the championships, Caruana acted as international technical official and also participated at the EWF Congress and Technical Meetings.

Zammit Stevens, who is assisted by the Maltese Olympic Committee, SportMalta, EWF and AWF, will be travelling to Doha this week for the Qatar International Cup along with Caruana.

The Qatar Cup is now in its fourth edition.