Francis Spiteri qualifies for World Championships at 63

Francis registered a 140kilo squat, a 70kilo bench press and a 170kg deadlift which enables him to compete in the Master 5 division, a special class for lifters aged 60 to 64 years old.  These lifts were performed during the last competition for the 2011 calendar year of the Malta Drug-Free Powerlifting Association, which was held last Saturday 10th September at Noble Gym, Sliema.

During the same competition held in Sliema, previously third ranked Charles Degiorgio managed to climb up to second place in the National Rankings, with a 540 kilo total.  He broke his own National Record in the squat with a 195 kilo lift, and barely missed out on the deadlift National Record of 235 kilos held by Matthew Muscat Inglott.  Degiorgio was competing in the under 75 kilo division as usual.

67.5 kilo lifter Mark Briffa managed to climb up into third place in the ranking list.  He registered a 485 kilo total, breaking all records in his weight class, previously held by Charles Degiorgio and Daniel Debono.  Both Degiorgio and Briffa had earlier this year qualified for November's World Championships.

Heavyweight Mario Mifsud, showed he is still Malta's number one powerlifter, and it seems like he will be occupying top spot for the long haul.  He bounced back from a disappointing one-off negative showing in the National Championships with huge lifts of 250 kilos in the squat, 177.5 kilos in the bench press and 320 kilos in the deadlift.  He will once again try to regain World Champion Status next November in Glasgow. 

Teenager Mark Formosa broke the bench press record in the 82.5 kilo weight class with a 140 kilo lift, and barely missed his 150 kilo attempt, which he is sure to nail in the very near future. 

Newcomer Ryan Agius performed well, exhibiting good technique throughout all nine lifts.  He showed promise and will sure give the top lifters a good run for top places in the future.

In the equipped division, Kris Mintoff tipping the scales at 91.1 kilos, improved his squat to 235 kilos and his bench press to 155 kilos, while pulling 250 kilos in the deadlift.  He too will be making the trip to Glasgow in November to compete in the assisted lifting.

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