Malta’s athletes continued their Commonwealth Games campaign on Monday with competitors in athletics, lawn bowls and weightlifting, highlighted by a personal best from weightlifter Kim Camilleri Lagana on her Commonwealth Games debut.

Athletics

Claire Azzopardi and Graham Pellegrini were both in action in the 100 metres heats.

Azzopardi finished third in her Women’s 100m Round 1 heat in a time of 11.87 seconds, while Pellegrini clocked 10.84 seconds to place fifth in Heat 3 of the Men’s 100m Round 1.

Both athletes will return to competition on Wednesday when they contest the Women’s and Men’s 200m Round 1 heats respectively.

Lawn bowls

Shaun Parnis completed his Men’s Singles group campaign with a 2-0 defeat to the Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander, losing 5-3 and 6-3.

Alexander made a strong start by taking the opening set, and despite Parnis battling throughout the contest, the Maltese player was unable to turn the match around. Nevertheless, Parnis finished second in his group.

Weightlifting

Kim Camilleri Lagana impressed in the women’s 53kg weightlifting competition, finishing eighth in a strong field despite competing as the youngest athlete in the event.

Making her Commonwealth Games debut, Camilleri Lagana successfully lifted 70kg in the snatch before producing a personal best of 73kg with her third attempt.

In the clean and jerk, she completed lifts of 90kg and 93kg, briefly moving into the lead, before attempting 96kg on her final lift. A successful effort would have elevated her two places in the standings, but the lift proved just beyond her reach as she continued her return from an injury that had restricted her leg-strength preparation in the lead-up to the Games.

Tuesday’s schedule

Malta has another busy day ahead on Tuesday with athletes competing across several disciplines.

In athletics, Jared Micallef will line up in the 800m heats, while Matthew Galea Soler will contest the 400m heats.

Artistic gymnast Philippa Busuttil will compete in the Balance Beam Final, and swimmer Sasha Gatt will take part in the 800m freestyle heats.

Malta’s weightlifting team will also be in action, with Rylee Borg competing in the men’s -88kg category, followed by Roberta Tabone in the women’s -63kg event and Tenishia Thornton in the women’s -69kg competition.

In lawn bowls, Connie Rixon will face Emily Jim of the Cook Islands in the Women’s Singles, while Shaun Parnis teams up with Troy Lorimer for the Men’s Pairs match against Malaysia.