– Jordan to make senior debut
Rawle Greene and Alicia Fortune are two of Guyana’s best sprinters and come tomorrow at the National Cultural Centre, the athletes are seeking to transfer their dominance from the track to the stage as they compete for the right to be called Mr. and Ms. Guyana respectively at this year’s Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBF) senior championships.
Fortune is the reigning Ms. Guyana and yesterday she told Stabroek Sport that she felt confident about retaining her title this year although her preparations for the show were hampered by an injury sustained in athletics.
“Honestly I only started training for this show like two weeks ago because I was competing at two meets in Trinidad and Tobago and in the second one at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium I pop my hamstring while coming out of the blocks. “I had to do surgery on my hamstring and my butt so that was a major setback, but I’m good and ready to compete,” said Fortune.
“Training for bodybuilding is not much different from training for athletics because we do the same weight training but our diet is different. I monitor my training well and even though I started late I think I’m in really good shape to retain my title. I’m not worried about the competition, I just have to go there and do my thing,” the defending overall champion noted.
Greene on the other hand, has not been as successful as his female counterpart since becoming a senior but his stringy, well defined physique has always been a ‘talk about’ in the sport. This time around Greene says he’s hoping that he can add a first place trophy in the seniors to his name.
“At the last competition I got third in my division and I didn’t get a chance to go on to the Mr. Guyana competition but I think this year I’ve put in a lot of work to make it so far and I’m really looking forward to Sunday,” said the national sprinter.
Like Fortune, Greene says that being a track athlete gives him the advantage of always being in the gym and he has had adequate time to prepare for the show this year.
“The athletic season is out and as such I have been hitting the gym really hard you know, so I expect to do better than last year. As you know I had a good novice and intermediate outing when I came out but I have not been able to topple some seniors but I think this year is it, I can do well on Sunday,” Greene stated.
Meanwhile another competitor Alfred Jordan, Guyana’s Novices and Intermediate champion, believes he can make some heads turn on his debut.
“First of all I’m glad to compete and I think that I have what it takes to beat some of the more senior men who have been there before. I mean I expect good competition but then again I have been working hard for this, since the Novices I am ready for the seniors so I think I’ll do well,” said Jordan.
“I don’t think I’m being too ambitious by saying that I can beat the seasoned bodybuilders,” Jordan said, adding that “it’s just that I know myself and what I can do. . . I am certain and excited about Sunday.”
A member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) where he holds the rank of Staff Sergeant, Jordan says taking home the overall title and being named Mr. Guyana would be a dream come true.
