The MFBF had a great season.
MaltaToday reports that summer and fall 2017 have been an extremely successful seasons for the Malta Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (MFBF). Federation athletes have been represented in 10 IFBB international competitions during the last few months alone.
Blanche Coppola and Ralph Decelis, who previously won the mixed pairs category in a 2014 Canadian show, again cemented their status with an outstanding showing in Biarritz, France, which earned the pair a gold medal.
Individually, they also performed extremely well. Blanche Coppola has been on an absolute tear. In the Romanian Masters world championship she took home a bronze metal, followed by a gold one at the Diamond Cup Rome, a silver at the Diamond Cup Athens and yet another silver at the Diamond Cup Milan.
Blanche then proceeded on to the Seniors World Championships where she placed 5th.
Decelis boasts a similarly impressive run. He came in 4th at the seniors world championships in Spain, took home a silver medal at the Diamond Cup Athens, another silver at the Diamond Cup Milan and came in fourth place at the Diamond Cup Rome.
Two other Maltese competitors had standout performances of their own.
Hannah Tabone Grech placed fourth in International Swiss Cup and fifth at Diamond Cup in Rome.
Gozitan Miriam Saliba placed 7th among 35 at the Arnold Classic Europe and 6th in Prague a week later. The Arnold Classic Europe was her first international showing.
Barcelona Arnold Andrew Azzopardi earned the 5th place in the Juniors category at the Arnold Classic Europe.
Veteran bodybuilders Antoine Zerafa, Eric Schembri and Giuseppe Cali also represented very strongly in their respective Masters categories.
The real Malta Federation standouts were Coppola, Decelis and Zerafa. All three have achieved finalist slots for the Sports Awards, organized by the Malta Olympic Committee. Overall this has been a tremendous performance of the small nation and one which demonstrates that bodybuilding excellence can be had even among smaller populations.
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