The Malta Weightlifting Association extended a warm invitation to Wales to participate in the 11th European Union Cup and the Malta International Youth & Junior Open Weightlifting Tournament, which was to take place across the weekend of the 6th and 7th December, on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta.

This year held special significance for Malta Weightlifting, as 2025 marks the 50th 50th Anniversary of the Governing Body. Malta were deeply honored that they could celebrate their historic milestone by hosting this prestigious international event which represents the commitment, growth, and excellence in the sport of weightlifting across Europe.

Weightlifting Wales gratefully accepted this invitation and began the process of selecting a squad of six to coincide with the below competition rules:

The Team is made of 6 (six) athletes, 3 boys and 3 girls:

• 1 boy and 1 girl Under 15 years of age, born 2012 - 2010
• 1 boy and 1 girl Under 17 years of age, born 2008 - 2010
• 1 boy and 1 girl Under 20 years of age, born 2005 - 2010

The selected squad of six came from athletes who met the totals required from the selection policy for this event. The final six were as follows:

Under 15's

- Jac Esen (Llanelli Weightlifting Academy)

- Bethan Harry (Club 646 Weightlifting)

Under 17's

- Thomas Duggan

- Nyarai Hector (Llanelli Weightlifting Academy)

Under 20's

- Daniel Davies (SAW - Strength Academy Wales)

- Isla Travers (Resilience Weightlifting)

All athletes were set to compete for various individual and team awards, all being calculated based on Sinclair points. With the nation with the highest total Sinclair across all athletes set to win the overall team award title. The other awards consisted of: 

• Doubles Classification: U15 / U17 / U20
• Individual Classification: Boys U15 I U17 / U20
• Individual Classification: Girls U15 I U17 / U20

As attention draws to the competition itself, our six athletes, 2 coaches, and Team Manager flew out early on the Friday 5th December from Manchester to Malta, eagerly anticipating a great weekend ahead, especially as some of the squad had recently been part of the team at the Celtic Championships in Glasgow.

Day 1 - Saturday 6th December

First up in Group 1 of the event, we had two athletes competing as part of the Boys Under 15/17 Group B in both Jac Esen (M88+) and Thomas Duggan (M56). Both impressed early on with their snatches as Jac went 3/3 in successful lifts of 77kg, 80kg, 84kg. On the other hand, Tom delivered good lifts of 85kg and 88kg, before just failing at a 90kg attempt. Moving on to the clean and jerks, and Jac made a best lift in the three figures (100kg), resulting in a 184kg total and 2025.87 Sinclair score. Whereas for Tom, he did tremendously well as he smashed the Welsh Lifting Records by going 105kg, 108kg and then attempting to lift over double his bodyweight in which he incredibly managed to achieve with a brilliant 110kg lift to the delight of himself and coaches Gareth Evans and Leah Clarke cheering on. With a 198kg total, Tom earned a 326.70 Sinclair which ended up being the best in this whole Group 1.

Next up for Welsh athletes saw the turn of Bethan Harry (W53) in Session 2 of the day, in the Girls Under 15 B Group. It turned out to be another outstanding performance by Welsh lifters as Bethan continued her great run of form following recently breaking a British Record last month by hitting a 139kg total, from best lifts of 63/76. This totaled up to a 210.91 Sinclair score which was good enough for 2nd in this group. Some brilliant achievements again for Bethan in her huge progression in 2025, we are sure of some exciting times ahead.

Day 2 - Sunday 7th December

After a super Day 1, everyone in the team woke up the following day with great optimism for the day ahead in knowing what our remaining three lifters could achieve. The Sunday morning kicked off with Session 6 and the turn of Daniel Davies (M88) to step up to the platform in the Boys Under 20 Group B. Another lifter who has seen brilliant development in recent time, Daniel delivered again pushing his capabilities to the max. And the results were testament to that with a Sinclair score of over 300 (311.44), after lifts of 111kg snatch, and 140kg clean and jerk - 251kg total.

A small wait proceeded as it became time for Nyarai Hector (W77) to take centre of attention for Team Wales in Session 7 of the event, as she competed in the Girls U17 Group A. A solid overall performance by Nyarai as she finished with results of 68kg best snatch, 89kg best clean and jerk, with a 157kg total. This represented a 190.32 Sinclair score, helping to build a steady overall total for Team Wales.

To wrap off a superb team performance, we then had Isla Travers (W69) who was ready to make her mark on the event, after waiting patiently till the Sunday afternoon to have her Girls Under 20 Group A ready to start. Another great milestone for Isla, competing in an 'A' group at the first time at the international event. Being on the big stage, Isla took it all in her stride as she confidently stepped up to the platform on all six of her attempts giving her very best. Isla came away with a Sinclair score of 216.05 following lifts of 75kg snatch, 98kg clean and jerk - with a 173kg total.

Final Awards and Thank You's

🥉Bronze Overall Team Medal for Wales

A fantastic weekend for our team over in Malta at the European Union Cup & 2025 Malta International Open, where all six of our athletes produced fantastic results 🏋️♀️

Some other medals for our team included:
🥇Best U15 female lifter - Bethan Harry
🥇Best U17 male lifter - Thomas Duggan
🥈Second Best U20 female lifter - Isla Travers
🥉Third Best U17 female lifter - Nyarai Hector
🥈Tom Duggan and Nyarai Hector second best U17 pair
🥉Daniel Davies and Isla Travers third best U20 pair

A big well done to our head coach, Gareth Evans, and regional Volunteer Coach, Leah Clarke, as well as Team Manager Christian Pszyk for all their efforts in helping our team perform at their best!

A big thank you to all National Lottery players and Welsh Government for all their continued support in helping make such international development experiences for our athletes possible. 

www.nationallotterygoodcauses.org