Duke cops heavyweight, overall titles

By Emmerson Campbell

Clint Duke of Total Fitness Gym Saturday night copped the heavyweight and overall titles in the first of four sub meets prior to the grand staging of this year’s Hugh Ross Classic.

Duke dazzled the sizable crowd at the Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground on Saturday night when he displayed his rippling abdominals, well defined quadriceps and sculpted arms in his free posing routine and compulsory poses.

In the heavyweight category (177 pounds and over), Duke took the spoils ahead of Alfred Jordan and Andel Cameron who placed second and third respectively.

Clint Duke poses with his winner’s trophy. (Orlando Charles photo)

Duke later returned to out pose and out flex the winners of the other categories in the posedown.

The reigning 2012 Intermediate and overall champion Eybo Orford of Total Fitness gym, took first place in the bantamweight (under 143 pounds) category.

He was the lone competitor in the division.

Lightweight Travis Peters from Total Fitness also was the only competitor in that division (144 to 154 pounds) and was subsequently awarded the winner’s trophy.

Crowd favourite Marlon Bennet (Extreme Fitness Gym) won the welterweight category (155 to 165 pounds) after a sizzling display of his rippling physique while Selwyn Grogan and William Ward (Total Fitness) were the first and second
runners-up in the welterweight division.

In the light middleweight division (166 to 176 pounds) another crowd pleaser Delon Harlequin, who trains at his home gym, proved superior to this year’s Novices and Intermediate welterweight champion Richard Bynoe of Interline Fitness Gym who placed second. Third was Michael Dos Santos of Total Fitness Gym.

Nadina Taharally receives her winner’s trophy from Financial Consultant of the Hugh Ross Classic Dexter Garnett. (Orlando Charles photo)

Nadina Taharally from the Interline Fitness Gym, the lone female competitor of the evening, subsequently took home the Miss Figure first place trophy.

The top two musclemen in each category have booked their places at the third biannual Hugh Ross Classic (HRC) which will be staged at the National Cultural Centre on July 28.

The top two bodybuilders will also receive supplement packages compliments of Fitness Express to further fine tune their physiques for Guyana’s signature bodybuilding event.

The next sub meet will be held on Independence Day at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) for bodybuilders residing in Georgetown, while the final sub meet will be held in Rose Hall, Berbice on June 2.only bodybuilders residing in Berbice will be eligible to enter.

The first sub meet was scheduled for Linden last weekend but there was only one competitor. He was given a free pass to the finals on July 28.

Sponsors for the event included Fitness Express, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Banks Malta Supreme, Hand in Hand Insurance Company, City Mall, Fazia’s Collections and Buddy’s Gym.

Caption Nadina Taharally receives her winner’s trophy from Financial Consultant of the Hugh Ross Classic Dexter Garnett. (Orlando Charles photo)