The setup for this event was excellent as usual. The meet was held at the Iontas Centre, a modern building in Castleblaney, a small town in County Monaghan. Lifters from various countries across the world including the US, Canada, Australia, Russia, England, Scotland, the Republic and Northern Ireland, The Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Cyprus and Estonia flew over to challenge for the honours.
The first Maltese lifter to make his way to the platform was Charles Degiorgio (above & below), who was competing in the under 75kg category. The multiple category National Champ squatted an easy 165kg opener before succesfully earning a 180kg squat on his second attempt. He failed his last attempt at 182.5kg. Degiorgio went on to bench press 110kg in his opening attempt in the bench, however failed his second and third attempts at 120kg. The same happened in the deadlift. He explosively ripped a 220kg barbell off the floor in his first attempt, however failed his second and third attempts with a 230kg load.
Thus he earned a 510kg total which at 71.9kg bodyweight earned him 250.6 Shwartz points, less than a point shy of his personal best 15 months ago. This total even earned him an encouraging fourth place in the under 75kg category. With a little more strategical planning and physical peaking, Degiorgio can easily be in contention for the 75kg crown next year.
Next up was Herman Mula (above), who contested the under 82.5kg category. For this lifter it was three out of three in both the squat and deadlift. He earned a 170kg squat on his last attempt and a very easy looking 215kg deadlift on his third attempt. He struggled in the bench press managing a 115kg opener but failing his second and third attempts at 117.5kg on technicalities. He managed to lock out the 117.5kg twice but was denied the lift on both occasions by a very strict judging panel. Once he rediscovers his form on the bench and starts deadlifting closer to his max in the deadlift, this lifter will break into the top ten on the local rankings easily. In fact this performance put him in 12th place in the national rankings, up two spots from his previous placing. The 500kg total earned him 11th place in the 16 man strong category, a category which was extremely tough, considering the high number of top-level lifters lifting in this group.
The under 90kg category saw two Maltese lifters challenging for the honours. For Josef Spiteri (above) it was an excellent performance. He squatted 182.5kg very smoothly in his final attempt before putting in a herculean effort in the bench press to lift 150kg. This was the strongest bench in the under 90kg category. He added a 220kg deadlift to his total to finish with 552.5kg, earning 6th place in the category and climbing up to 9th place on the National Rankings.
The other lifter in this category was Kris Mintoff (above & below), who after struggling with his bodyweight for weeks managed to weigh -in at 88.3kg. Mintoff, who was coming back from a knee injury, squatted 180kg, 195kg and 205kg. Then he bench pressed 117.5kg and 122.5kg before failing his third attempt at 127.5kg. He then successfully deadlifted all his three attempts finishing with a 247.5kg deadlift and a 575kg total, earning him third place in the 90kg category. The result, though a personal best did not earn this lifter a higher place in the National Rankings since he still trails Emanuel Schembri's best performance by 1.1 Shwartz Points.
It was a great experience for all 4 lifters, and a chance to prove on the platform that the local level of Powerlifting compared to the rest of the World is on the increase. Last year Mario Mifsud became the first Maltese lifter to earn World Champion status, but with these kind of performances, another Maltese World Champion is not too far away.
The results in more detail can be accessed on http://www.idfpa.plus.com/2010%20World%20PL%20day%201.pdf
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