Meet Malta’s Olympian: After Five Years Of Training, Trailblazing Weightlifting Queen Yaz Is Ready For Tokyo 2020
It has been five years in the making, with many bumps and detours along the way, and now that the moment has arrived, Malta’s weightlifting queen Yazmin Zammit Stevens is both ecstatic and stoic about being called up for the Summer Olympic Games.
“From an athlete’s point of view, it is just like every other competition,” a modest Zammit Stevens told Lovin Malta. “When you look from the outside, you are going to know about the Olympics more than anything else, but for me, it’s just the same two lifts I’ve been doing for the past five years.”
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Zammit Stevens is the first female athlete to represent Malta in weightlifting at the Olympics. She will be competing in the 64kg women’s category and joins Matthew Abela and Eleanor Bezzina as part of Malta’s contingent heading to Tokyo this summer.
She was chosen by way of the International Olympic Committee Tripartite Commission, which allows National Olympic Committees the opportunity to apply to send top athletes in their respective sport who have not managed to qualify.
The Maltese athlete has been visualising this moment for almost six years now, ever since she ventured into the world of weightlifting.
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“The past five years have been leading up to this,” she continued. “The qualification events started in late 2018 so it has been a long process.”
That process included smashing stereotypes and numerous records, including at the European Championships in Russia earlier this year, where she set two national records in the Snatch.
Although the Olympics is the pinnacle of any athlete’s career, Zammit Stevens is taking on the task with a poise and maturity of a season champion.
“I’ve done every competition possible in the lead-up to the Olympic Games,” she continued. “I’ve had such great preparation for this meet, with a coach who has prepared me in the best way possible.”
“It’s the biggest competition yet but I’m more than prepared for this, both physically and mentally”.
Zammit Stevens has spent time training with the national team abroad in Italy, Slovenia and Latvia. She recently spent five weeks in Romania in preparation for the Olympic Games.
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“I was given incredible support by the Malta Weightlifting Association, the Malta Olympic Committee and SportMalta,” she continued. “They funded my training and competitions and have been behind me since day one.”
Zammit Stevens ran into a snag earlier this year when she suffered a physical injury to her wrist, causing her to step back from weightlifting for six weeks, right before the European Championships.
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“It was definitely an anxious time in my life. However, I managed to get myself together for the competition. I didn’t do incredibly well but it was good enough.”
Although the Maltese weightlifter has suffered from physical ailments this year, her mental fortitude has never been stronger, setting her up for a confident performance at the Olympic Games.
“I’ve been working on the mental aspect through experience,” she said. “I know how important it is to train mentally and I work closely with a sports psychologist to prepare.”
One of the biggest mental blows to athletes was the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted training schedules and, in Malta, resulted in the closure of gyms for several months by order of local health authorities.
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“The gym in my house is a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she continued. “When they announced the postponement of the Olympics and of our training sessions, I didn’t think I would manage to get through another year not knowing if the Olympics was going to happen this year.”
If there’s one thing that kept Zammit Stevens going through these tumultuous times, it was the discipline to stick to her routine, despite the world descending into chaos around her.
“My routine is what it has always been, nothing changes, nothing becomes too fancy,” she continued.
“It’s the Olympics but we need to stay on track like every other competition.”
The Summer Olympic Games kicks off in Tokyo on 23rd July. Earlier this week, its organisers announced that up to 10,000 domestic fans will be allowed to attend events – a decision that comes after the Japanese government lifted the state of emergency in Tokyo.
“I don’t want to downplay it but in terms of my preparation, it’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past five years,” Zammit Stevens said.
For many athletes, the Olympic Games is the top of the mountain and is preceded by retirement. However, Malta’s weightlifting queen plans to continue etching her name into local history books long after she returns from Tokyo.
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“I’m not going to call it a day after the Olympics. I’ve only been doing this sport for almost six years, I’m sure that I can make it to the Olympic Games again and do even better,” she said.
“The Olympics is every athlete’s dream, but it is not the end of me”.
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