Jack Mizzi (Chess) and Tenishia Thornton (Weightlifting) are the winners of the Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award for October.

Jack Mizzi who is 18 years old, has won the 89th edition of the Malta Chess Championship and re-confirmed the Junior Champion title for the third consecutive year.

In the Final with a double round robin format, finalists played twice against each other, once with the white pieces and once with the black pieces. Mizzi was the only unbeaten player achieving 8 points out of the 10 maximum points. Mizzi is one of the youngest winners of the Malta Chess Championship.

Meanwhile, Tenishia Thornton, aged 19, was crowned as the new European Champion at the European Junior Championships in Warsaw, Poland.

Thornton kicked off the Snatch portion with an impressive 86 kilogrammes lift and finally made a successful attempt at 89 kilogrammes. In the Clean and Jerk, Thornton started strongly at 107 kilogrammes, as she aimed for 110 kilogrammes, only to falter on the jerk. In her final dramatic attempt, she summoned every ounce of strength and determination, smashing the bar with a spectacular lift of 112 kilogrammes! Tenishia Thornton not only secured her spot at the top but also set a new national record. With a total lift of 201 kilogrammes, Thornton outpaced Spain who finished with 194 kilogrammes and Romania at 196 kilogrammes.

The Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award was presented to Tenishia Thornton by Matthew von Brockdorff, Managing Director and CEO of Atlas Insurance. The Malta Sports Journalists Association (MSJA) was represented by President Clinton Buhagiar and Administrator Stephen Azzopardi. Jack Mizzi’s presentation will be done at a later stage when he’ll be back in Malta.

This award is a joint initiative of the Malta Sports Journalists Association and Atlas Insurance. The adjudicating panel of this award takes note of all the youths’ national and international achievements of the month under review, and at the same time, it invites local sport associations and federations to send in their nominations for consideration if they feel that any of their under-21 athletes have distinguished themselves during that month. All the monthly winners are eligible for the annual award.

Nominations for this award may be sent via email to info@maltasportsjournalists.com. The rules and regulations of this award can be viewed through the link https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/atlas-youth-athlete-of-the-month-rules-and-regulations/

Photo caption: Matthew von Brockdorff (Atlas) presenting the trophy to Tenishia Thornton together with Clinton Buhagiar (MSJA) and Stephen Azzopardi (MSJA).