Alfred Jordan of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) copped the overall title when the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) opened its 2009 season with the Novices and Intermediate Championships on Sunday evening.
Fifteen competitors took to the stage before a packed Theater Guild audience and Jordan, who competed first in the Middle Class (154-165 lbs) edged out two other competitors in the novices category to begin what turned out to be a memorable night for the GDF officer. Shawn Henry of Buddy’s Gym was second while Godfrey Stoby was third.
Already captivating the crowd with his well defined physique, Jordan returned in the Intermediate Category and again grabbed first place with a much-improved showing while the second and third places followed the same order as in the Novices.
Lester Heywood of the Total Fitness Gym and Jaffar Muhammad of the Upper Demerara Barbell Club were also impressive, both winning outright in the Novices and Intermediate competitions.
Heywood became a crowd pleaser after his first appearance on stage as the audience found his very animated routine highly entertaining. But even though he added a lot of humour to the night, his body structure was nothing to make fun of.
He had the better of five competitors in the Novices Lightweight Class (under 154 lbs) with Studio 2000’s Jarrell Moore taking the second spot while Troy Bailey of Muscle Tech Gym placed third. The top three finishers made their way over to the Intermediate Category and they all finished in the same order as in the Novices competition.
Muhammad did the same in the Heavy Class (over 165 lbs), convincingly beating Guyana’s heavyweight boxing champ Mitchell Rogers of the Total Fitness Gym and Romeo Jardine.
It seemed as though all of Linden came out to support Muhammad, since his name rang out in loud calls from the audience, much to the delight of the athlete who did not let up and stood out a clear winner in both categories.
Rogers and Jardine in both the Novices and Intermediate categories finished second and third respectively.
Meanwhile, in the Miss Body Beautiful competition, Justin Lee of Studio 2000 Gym posed her way to the title which she took in front of Tasha Forde of Curtis’s Workout Gym.
In the meantime, Guyana’s most accomplished bodybuilder Hugh Ross performed the duties of Master of Ceremonies (MC) and answered calls from the audience as several fans shouted, ‘Tek off yah shirt Ross’ from the moment he came on stage.
The veteran bodybuilder did take his shirt off as requested and briefly showed why he’s one of the best in his business. Local star and recently turned professional bodybuilder Sylvan Gardner appeared briefly and enticed the crowd with his body.
Next up on the GABBF calendar is their Annual Seniors Championship which will be held in August at the National Cultural Center.
