By Kizan Brumell
Hard work and dedication were the reasons Mark Anthony Perry of Linden was adjudged the overall winner at the inaugural Hugh Ross Classic Bodybuilding and Fitness competitions Sunday evening at the National Cultural Centre.
Along with the overall title, Perry also won the Mr. Heavyweight category while other category winners in the male section were Clint Duke, Andel Cameron, Clyde Waldries and Royston Booker.
Alisha fortune and Tamika Pellew were victorious in the female categories.
The evening’s proceedings saw speeches by special invitees, including Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony who noted that the Hugh Ross Classic is set to become an annual event, a high point for bodybuilding and a premier sport event on the national calendar.
He also congratulated the organizers for successfully putting together the competition and wished the athletes the best of luck in the historic event.
Clint Duke of the Total Package Gym, was the first event winner beating out crowd favourite Sylvon Gardner the Mr. Welter-weight category.
Gardener placed second and Marlon Bennett of Buddy’s and Interline Fitness gym, third.
Top female sprinter Fortune overcame the odds to win the Ms. Body Fitness category ahead of Melissa Roberts and Upper Demerara’s Tamika Pellew, who went on to win the Ms Fitness Open, being the only participant.
One-Two-Three, this is how Andel Cameron, Rawle Greene and Adrian Andries were set and this was the judges’ final decision in the Mr. Light Middleweight category.
Clyde Waldries was the lone competitor in the Mr. Middleweight category and it was the same for Canada-based Guyanese Royston Booker in the Mr. Light Heavyweight group.
However, it was still compulsory for those athletes to perform their routines.
It was a complete no show in the Mr. Heavyweight category as Perry’s body structure was clearly superior to the other physiques and he effectively blew away second placed finisher Oslyn Jones and Al Dowding, who finished third.
During the proceedings Eustace “Robocop” Abrahams and his role model Hugh Ross were guest posers to the delight of a packed, jubilant National Cultural Centre.
The male category winners then advanced to the feature event, the “Mr. Hugh Ross” category in which the athletes were instructed to carry out a 60-second pose off and the crowd favourites were clearly Duke, Booker and Perry.
Perry’s wings (latissimus muscles) when spread, were like a flock of birds and though the other competitors (especially Duke) tried none could get the same `WOW’ reaction from the crowd.
Finally, it all came down to the judges’ decision and they chose Perry as the champion of the 2008 inaugural Mr. Hugh Ross Classic.
