Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
30 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 SPORTS SHOOTING POWERLIFTING WARREN ZAMMIT BRIAN Galea has just been de- clared Sport Malta's sportsman of the year for his achievements in target shooting. The 45-year- old's passion for target shoot- ing emerged at a young age. Throughout his career he won numerous competitions locally and also carried Malta's flag abroad. For such efforts he was recognised by Sport Malta. "I have been practising shoot- ing since a young age, when I was introduced to the sport by my father, who used to practise shooting as well," Galea told MaltaToday. "I started with the discipline called 'Down the Line' which is very popular in Malta. Then I ventured in Trap Olympic and started compet- ing locally and in international competitions." With regards to his award, Galea named a number of achievements which he be- lieves led the jury to vote for him as the sportsman of the year. These include winning a bronze medal in the Common- wealth games and in Malta's grand prix. Looking back at his career thus far, Brian named his partici- pation in the Commonwealth games as his biggest achieve- ment. This will remain memo- rable for Brian as he travelled back to Malta with a medal. As a Maltese athlete practising target shooting, Brian is faced with a number of everyday chal- lenges. Two major obstacles are the weather conditions as well as the balance between the sports and his personal work. "Trap shooting is an outdoor sport therefore weather condi- tions are critical," he said. You need to train during the day and with winter days being shorter, scheduling work and training sessions is not easy." Galea is also looking to the fu- ture. The sportsman of the year in- tends to keep on training hard to achieve better results. This year alone he will compete in the European Championship, World Cup and the GSSE qualification. And his ultimate dream is to participate in the 2020 Olym- pics which will take place in Tokyo. Galea lives in Mosta and has two children named Neil and Kim. Sportsman of the year Brian Galea on his achievements in target shooting THE Malta Drug Free Powerlift- ing Association organised its an- nual Team Nationals Champi- onships which saw a total of 20 athletes competing in this sport consisting of the three main compound lifts, the Squat, the Bench and the Deadlift. The winning team was 3Sumo- 3Cheaters, composed of Mat- teo Aquilina, Alwyn Cassar and Luke Bonanno. 3Sumo3Cheat- ers managed to achieve a total of 935.57 points, which put them in front of the second place team by 60.81 points. Wayne Gregoraci won the male overall lifter for this year with a solid 220kg squat, a 140kg bench press and a 275.5kg deadlift in the -90kg body weight category. The 275.5kg deadlift by Grego- raci is also a new National Re- cord. Gregoraci managed to achieve a total of 635.5kg and 374.25 points Second place for the male overalls was won by Matteo Aq- uilina who managed to achieve a total of 485kg in the -67.5kg category. Aquilina managed to 175kg squat, a bench press of 105kg and a 205kg deadlift. Matteo bagged in a total of 358.8 points. Third place for the male over- alls was attained by Anton Mer- cieca with a 180kg squat, a 130kg bench press and a 210kg deadlift and a total of 324.53 points in the -82.5kg category. Anton showed a promising performance in this competition, and it was his first ever powerlifting competition. Female lifter Nora Cortina achieved a 100kg Squat, a 60kg Bench, and a 115kg Deadlift in the -63kg weight class. This put her in first place with a total of 275kg and 240.63 points. Out of the Juniors and Teenag- ers, Kurt Degiorgio managed to obtain the most points, bagging 313.73 points in the -67.5kg. Degiorgio squatted a national record 130kg Squat. He benched an impressive 112.5kg, and re- corded a 167.5kg deadlift, both also national records. Philip Mifsud, Luke Bonanno and Matthew Bonanno achieved national records on the day. 3Sumo3Cheaters secure MDFPA Championship 3Sumo3Cheaters: Matteo Aquilina, Alwyn Cassar, Luke Bonanno