Saturday, fitness fans were treated to an evening of flexing, mass and aesthetics at the Theatre Guild where some of the best bodies in the Region took the stage to do battle in what turned out to be a fantastic evening.
When the dust settled after each of the 30 gladiators flexed their muscle fibres to the max, Suriname’s duo of Wendel Setropawiro (Open Bodybuilding) and Stefeni Tjon-A-San (Ms. Bikini) and Guyana’s Emmerson Campbell (Men’s Physique) found themselves as the last men and woman standing.
Setropawiro, winner in the heavyweight class, stood head and shoulders above the competition and flexed and posed his way to the Mr. ‘Stage of Champions’ overall title.
Standing at 6-foot 1’, was a Goliath amongst the other gladiators and he possessed a superior level of detail and his 215-pound frame was a mass of striated muscle.
With chiseled arms, deltoids, glutes, legs, a barn-door back and a washboard mid-section, the muscleman from the neighbouring country, used his sharp physique to slice through the competition of the rival musclemen.
Before winning the overall pose down of the champions of champions against Marlon Bennet (154), Shawn Roberts (light middleweight), Caerus Cipriani(welterweight) and Jejpaul Sammy (bantamweight), Setropawiro had a very close battle against local muscleman and crowd favourite, Jermin Jones.
Many felt that the chiseled and dreadlocked Jones would have emerged the winner of the heavyweight class and take the overall spoils, but the judges gave the nod to the rugged and heavily tatted Setropawiro, much to the disapproval of the partisan crowd for the hometown Jones.
For his exploits under the lights, Setropawiro clad in a purple posing trunks, pocketed the $200,000 first prize.
Bennett known for his turtle shell like back, brought his legs up significantly to match his upper body and was adjudged the second place bodybuilder overall. Roberts cashed in with a third place finish.
Men’s Physique
The judges awarded the Men’s Physique Show-down trophy to 2018 CAC bronze medalist, Campbell with the Suriname pair of Rudolph Gerowcosta and Randal Haakmat placing second and third in the 10-man line up.
Among a group of 10 V-tapered physiques, Campbell brought the shape and stage presence the judges most wanted to see, he was well-proportioned, well-muscled and conditioned, the tools necessary to present a winning package in the category to record a three-peat as champion.
Bikini
In the sizzling Ms. Bikini segment, Tjon-A-San upstaged her countrywomen, Jawelle Singoojojo and Priscilla Calor in the four-woman category. The overall Ms. Bikini champion for the third time for this show, was the near perfect mix of muscularity, symmetry, sass and style.
Campbell and Tjon-A-San took home the $100,000 first prize for winning their segments of the show.
Second and third place finishers, in the Bikini and Physique classes earned $40,000 and $20,000 respectively.
The organizers of ‘Stage of Champions’ dubbed the event a success and will look to raise the profile of the fourth edition of the fixture in 2019.
