Oh Yaz! Maltese Weightlifter Sets Personal Record And Dominates At IWF World Championships In Thailand
Malta’s weightlifting queen Yazmin Zammit Stevens dominated on the international stage once again as she for lifted her way to fifth place at the IWF World Championships in Thailand today.
The young athlete remains the only Maltese to compete at this prestigious tournament, going head-to-head against some of the best weightlifters in the world, and damn did she make us proud.
Yaz entered the competition having recently suffered an injury, forcing her to compete at the 71kg weighing in at 69kg, instead of her comfort class at 65kg.
Despite the rollercoaster of emotions that came with the injury, competing in a foreign country and doing so in a different class, Yaz didn’t let it affect her performance and not only did she place in a respectful fifth place in Session B, but she set an all-time personal best doing so.
Yaz managed to complete an 85 kg Snatch and 105 kg Clean and Jerk, for a whopping total of 190 kilos.
The lifts didn’t come easy though.
In fact, Yaz was close to failing 85 kg after an initial ruling on her last lift was deemed as a ‘no lift’. However, a technical time out was called as judges came together to discuss Yaz’s lift and after a few tense moments, the ruling was overturned and called as a good lift.
You can see it all unfold in the video below…
“Against all odds, after months of rehab and a rollercoaster of emotions… I managed to get myself on the World Stage,” Yaz said in an Instagram post.
“85/105/190 for an all-time personal best total in the 71kg class weighing in at 69kg. I also finished in 5th place in my group!”
Session A of the women’s 71kg weight class are currently competing as we speak, after which Yaz will receiver her overall world ranking.
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