Rodmar Pulis places first at second ranking competition held by the Malta Weightlifting Association

The competition was a precedent and qualifier for the European Small Nations Tournament, which is to be held at the same venue next month.

In the youth’s female section, Nicole Gatt had a superb showing by shattering both the Snatch national record by lifting 47kg as well as the overall total record in the under-53kg weight category by successfully combining this Snatch with a Clean and Jerk to total 112kg.

In the youth’s males group, yet more national records were broken. This time, Malcolm Camilleri took all three: namely for the Snatch, the Clean and Jerk and also for the combined total, with 38kg, 50kg and 88kg respectively. Following this success, Keiran Mifsud ranked 5th in the event by achieving a points best total of 145kg and 183 points, while Miguel Grixti also slotted a points best with a total of 104kg and 150 points.

In the Men’s senior section, Charles DeGorgio, having suffered an injury in the warm-up area, failed all three of his Snatch attempts of 87kg and was forced to retire from this event, despite this valiant effort. Ryan Aguis was also forced to withhold from the competition after an unsuccessful Clean and Jerk attempt.

Chris Schinas accomplished a hard earned points best after one successful Snatch of 70kg and clinching for a successful third and final attempt of 86kg in the Clean and Jerk following two failed attempts.

The pinnacle of the competition was displayed by national team lifters Matthew Muscat Inglot, RodmarPulis and Jovan Reljic, all of who vied for the top spot in preparation for the European Small Nations Tournament and Malta Open. Jovan Reljic had a somewhat shaky start by losing out on his first two Snatch attempts, however throwing the bar overhead successfully for a 92kg Snatch in his third and final attempt and scoring an total of 202kg. Matthew Muscat Inglott was successful with a solid 98kg Snatch and also a 121kg Clean and Jerk.

RodmarPulis claimed first place by achieving a personal best 101kg Snatch, and after a successful 125 Clean and Jerk, the young lifter also attempted to shatter his personal best in this lift. With 131kg on the bar, Rodmar managed to power it overhead with a split jerk, however did was not successful in stabilising and aligning his feet, leading to an incomplete lift by a very small margin.

The European Small Nations and Open Tournament will be held at Cottonera Sports Complex between April 26th to April 28th, and the Maltese National Team will be defending their silver medal achieved in Luxembourg last year.