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Yazmin Zammit Stevens will be the first Maltese female weightlifter to compete in the Olympics
Yazmin Zammit Stevens was confirmed as the third athlete to represent Malta at Tokyo 2020, joining shooter Eleanor Bezzina and Badminton Player Matthew Abela. Yazmin will compete in the 64kg category of weightlifting.
The local weightlifter, a recipient of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship for the past three years, has been competing at international level since 2015, including the European Championships as well as the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018. She has broken over 150 national records in the last five years. In April 2021, she broke two at the European Championships in Moscow in the 71kg weight class.
Following the announcement, Yazmin said, “I am still under shock at this announcement. I have given my total commitment towards the possibility of this opportunity. The road to Tokyo has been hard, particularly because of the pandemic, which hindered international competition. Thankfully I have been able to train and compete abroad in the past months, which certainly have put me back into the swing of things.”
“We are very pleased to see that Malta will be competing in Weightlifting and to see the Maltese contingent slowly building up. This is the second time that Malta has competed in weightlifting but Yazmin’s participation will put her on Maltese history books as being the first Maltese female weightlifter to compete in the Games,” said Julian Pace Bonello, President, Maltese Olympic Committee.
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo, between 23 July and 8 August 2021.
