Body boost!
Date: 30-05-2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamBarbados |
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THERE IS some light at the end of the local bodybuilding tunnel. Two exciting rookies and an effervescent teen brought new life to the sport over the weekend and have given fans something to look forward to in the August 25 nationals.
Bodybuilding has endured lean times in the past few years, with disappointments at almost every turn.
Last year, the national team returned home from the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Championships in Jamaica without the team title and minus its top junior, Andre Miller, charged and convicted for drug possession.
A sport thirsty for positives surely got some at Combermere School Sunday night with the advent of fresh faces – Levar Greaves, Ryan Nightengale and Damian Harewood.
Greaves, Nightengale and Harewood captured the top three spots in Mr Novice, with each of them creating a favourable impression. It is noteworthy that Greaves is 25, Nightengale, 24 and Harewood, 18.
A personal trainer at Oceans 2, the dynamic Greaves had the fans screaming for him from the moment he pounded the stage with 204 pounds of shredded muscle.
"I put in the hard work. I knew I was ready," he said.
A former basketball point guard for Foundation, Greaves, a product of Rockhampton Road, Grazettes, St Michael, looked one for the future if he can improve on his posing and add some thickness to his lats.
Nightengale, a product of World Gym Warrens and an employee of Nature's Discount, was dry and hard and could feel pleased with his performance.
Harewood didn't win Mr Teenager. That honour went to Laron Gibson, but the former Garrison Secondary student was potentially the best of the teens on show. Blessed
with a good structure, he brought shape and symmetry and if his legs were cut, the result might have been different.
The only one on the night better than Greaves was Martinus Durrant, back after taking last year off. Greaves won the fans with appeal and charisma, the quiet Durrant came with a methodical classical posing routine, mature muscle and a more complete package.
Durrant, Greaves and Ricardo "Cou Cou" Bascombe, who was in the audience, could all clash in what should be a riveting light heavyweight class at the nationals.
Two other bright spots on the night were Roderick Stewart and new Bridgetown queen Claire Barrow. Stewart does not have an ideal structure and will be hard pressed to win a symmetry round but he knows how to prepare and was one of the best conditioned athletes on stage. His third place was reward for hard work.
Barrow as well. Her arms, shoulders and back were impressive and she was clearly improved.
"I put in 16 weeks of dieting. I enjoyed this win. This came by way of hard work. It's good to be back," she said.
There were few disappointments. Michael Riley, a former Barbados champion, was smooth on his return and was relegated to the back of the field. Andy Bispham would have been hoping for better than fourth, but was slightly off form at 170 pounds, 16 more than his regular lightweight contest weight.
Irvine "Big Red's" Streete promised to return to the drawing boards to fine-tune his product Jermaine Thomas, who had to settle for fourth in Mr Novice. Thomas, 33, may have had the best structure in the field, and caught everyone's eyes with his huge shoulders and arms, but his condition was off especially in the thighs.
