Tuesday proved one of the busiest and most encouraging days for Team Malta, with athletes competing across multiple disciplines and delivering performances that left a real mark on the Games.

Weightlifting

Weightlifter Roberta Tabone secured Team Malta’s best result to date at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, finishing fifth in her category with a personal best performance just outside the medal positions. In the snatch, the 31-year-old lifted 86kg and 89kg but failed her attempt at 91kg. In the clean and jerk, she lifted 110kg and 115kg. She completed the event with a total of 204kgs.

Tenishia Thornton competed in the -69kg category, opening with a successful 90kg snatch before missing 93kg on her second attempt, only to come back and nail it on her third to set a new national record. In the clean and jerk, she opened confidently with 114kg but was unable to lock out 117kg on either of her remaining attempts. She finished with a total of 207kg and an impressive seventh-place result.

Rylee Borg competed in the -88kg category, registering a total lift of 295kg — including 129kg in the snatch — to finish eighth. As the youngest weightlifter in his group, it was an encouraging result that bodes well for his international future.

Artistic Gymnastics

Philippa Busuttil delivered an impressive performance in the Balance Beam final, competing against several Olympic and World Championship finalists. Her initial score of 12.700 was raised to 12.800 following a successful inquiry, placing her sixth in a final featuring leading gymnasts from Australia, Canada, England, Singapore and Wales.

Her result was just 0.2 points off the podium, and it marked the first time a Maltese gymnast has reached the final round of competition at these Games.

Athletics

Another highly positive result came from Jared Micallef, who secured his place in the semi-finals of the Men’s 800m. Micallef delivered a composed run in the heats, finishing fifth with a time of 1:46.99, and returns to the track on Thursday 30th July at 20:45 CET.

Matthew Galea Soler represented Malta in the 400m. Despite having to contend with very strong and unfavourable wind conditions, he recorded a time of 47.38s, close to his season’s best of 47.07s. He finished 23rd out of 46 finishers, with the top 16 athletes from the heats joining the eight pre-qualified athletes in the semi-finals. This performance ranks as his third-fastest of the season and further demonstrates the consistency he has shown at this level over the past two years

Swimming

Sasha Gatt competed in the Women’s 800m Freestyle heats, clocking a time of 8:56.85 and finishing third in her heat.

Lawn Bowls

Connie Rixon faced Emily Jim of the Cook Islands in a game that started promisingly, with Malta winning the first few ends. However, the Cook Islands picked up a three on the final end of the first set to take it 5–4, carried that momentum into the second set, and never looked back, running out comfortable 9–6 winners.

In the Men’s Pairs, Shaun Parnis and Troy Lorimer produced a spirited fightback against Malaysia’s Amirul Abdul Rahim and Mohammad Soufi Rusli, only to fall at the final hurdle. A slow start saw them drop five shots in the opening end, but they quickly regrouped and battled back before narrowly losing the first set 6–5. The second set told a different story, with the duo matching Malaysia shot for shot to seal a 4–3 victory and force a tie-break.

In the decider, Lorimer built a perfect head with Malta holding three shots, only for Rusli to produce a sensational drive with his very first bowl, leaving Malta with an almost impossible task. Parnis gave everything with his remaining bowls but fell just short, handing Malaysia the win.

Team Malta returns to action on Wednesday 29th July when Claire Azzopardi and Graham Pellegrini (Athletics) are set to compete in the 200m heats . Later in the day, Shaun Parnis and Troy Lorimer continue their Men’s Doubles campaign against Wales.