Aesthetic muscleman Caerus Cipriani posed his chiseled physique and earned a silver medal at the ninth Darcy Beckles Bodybuilding Invitational Classic which was staged in Barbados on Saturday.
Cipriani’s spot on the podium is the highest to date by a Guyanese at that event in the fledging Men’s Physique category. He led a team of Guyana’s representatives which included Yannick Grimes, Coel Marks, Junica Pluck and Marlon Bennett at the fixture which attracted 74 athletes from 10 territories.
While Cipriani of Life Gym snared silver in the tall class of the category, Grimes was awarded bronze in the short class and Marks (short class) narrowly missed out with a fourth place finish among the six athletes. This year’s CAC bronze medalist, Barbadian, Hadley Hoyte won the short class and the overall Men’s Physique title for the second successive year.
Pluck finished sixth in the Ms. Bikini segment which was won by the statuesque Bajan, Shakira Doughlin. Bennett was unfortunate to finish outside the first call out in the lightweight bodybuilding class. Reigning Mr. Barbados, Stevenson Belle won the heavyweight and the overall bodybuilding title.
The good showing of the army of bodybuilders comes on the heels of Guyana’s success at the CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships held earlier this month in the Dominican Republic.
That five-member team bagged two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal. It was the biggest medal haul for Guyana in the 44-year history of the competition.
Gold went to Kerwin Clarke (light middle) and US based Bruce Whatley (Master’s), while Emmerson Campbell (Men’s Physique) snared a silver and Devon Davis (bantamweight) copped bronze in the event which attracted a record 385 athletes from 30 territories.
Whatley also flexed and posed his way to a silver in the middle weight class which was won by the eventual overall winner.
Guyana’s other representative, Alisha Fortune was not as fortunate as her countrymen and was unable to qualify for the finals in the Body Fitness category.
President of the local federation, Keavon Bess lauded the efforts of both contingents which represented the Golden Arrowhead.
