You probably wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but Tenishia Thornton is probably the strongest teenager you will ever meet.
The 14-year-old Żejtun resident, who already has a host of medals, trophies and other accolades under her belt at such a tender age, became the first Maltese weightlifter to reach Platinum level in the Malta Weightlifting Association’s rankings.
The daughter of accomplished rower and CrossFit athlete Dennis Thornton, Tenishia says she grew up used to her father’s fitness regimen and the curiosity and desire to lift weights was always there.
“I used to go to the gym with him and I hoped to be strong like him when I grow up,” Tenishia told The Sunday Times of Malta.
There she met Malta Weightlifting Association president Jesmond Caruana whom she trained with and subsequently came on as her coach.
“I always wanted to find a sport that was a little challenging and I was brought up around weightlifting, so I was always interested in trying it out,” she said.
Previously, Tenishia practiced gymnastics and dance, where the goal was to be flexible. Weightlifting calls on the athlete to use more speed and power.
When people criticise or pass comments on young girls who lift weights, I don’t really pay attention
“They each have their own challenges of course, but I honestly prefer weightlifting. I see myself made for weightlifting and it’s always been the sport I wanted to compete in,” Tenishia says.
The young ingénue mostly trains for Olympic lifts, the clean and jerk and the snatch, two lifts in which the athlete performs a different set of movements in order to lift the barbell. Tenishia has a maximum clean and jerk of 67kg, a maximum snatch of 55kg with a body weight of 46kg. She trains five days a week.
Despite her early success, Ms Thornton is aware of the criticism targeting her age and the fact that she is a young woman doing well in a traditionally masculine sport.
“Weightlifting may be better known as a men’s sport, but this isn’t true. In Malta, women are dominating the sport at the moment,” she says.
“Some people questioned whether weightlifting is healthy for me because I’m young and because I’m a girl, but I trust my coach to tailor a programme specifically for me.”
“So when people criticise or pass comments on young girls who lift weights, I don’t really pay attention to them. I have faith in my coach and his ability to guide me.”
Women in weightlifting have been having a major moment. Fellow national record breaker and 2018’s Sportswoman of the year Yazmin Zammit Stevens has her eyes firmly set on the Tokyo Olympics next year, taking another three bronze medals at an Olympic qualifier event in San Marino last month.
This year, Tenishia placed first in the International Women’s Grand Prix in Slovenia and won bronze at the European Weightlifting cup in Ireland in June, becoming the first Maltese person to place in the competition. In 2018, the Malta Weightlifting Association named her the best newcomer and awarded her with the Master level award. Tenishia has also been selected as a prominent athlete by the Malta Olympic Committee through their Elite Athlete scheme.
“Like any athlete, my dream is to go to the Olympics,” Tenishia says.
Unfortunately, Olympic weightlifters must be at least 16 years old to compete, so she is a little while away before being able to qualify.
“The Olympics can only be in my future for now, so I’m focusing on other big competitions. This year, I’ll be competing at the European Youth Championship in Israel. So right now, my goal is to do well in that and get a medal for Malta.”