Athletes and event growing in stature
Some of the leanest, toned and muscular bodies in Bermuda graced the stage in front of an appreciative capacity crowd at the Night of Champions at CedarBridge Academy on Saturday.
The 28th edition of the annual bodybuilding extravaganza was the largest in the event’s history, with 53 athletes vying for honours in seven different classes: women’s figure, fitness, physique and bikini, and men’s fitness, physique and bodybuilding.
A number of those categories were introduced to this year’s competition for the first time, which Candy-Lee Foggo, the Bermuda Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation president, credits for swelling the number of participants.
“It’s very satisfying to see the competition grow and the more people we can get on stage the better,” she said. “That’s something we have been striving to do and to see it come to fruition is very fulfilling.”
Foggo enthused about the conditioning of the competitors’ physiques and stage presentation and believed the judges had been forced to make several tough decisions.
“The competitors didn’t make it easy for the judges and the top three could have gone either way in a lot of the categories,” Foggo said.
“I thought the standard of the competition was very high and when Bermuda competes internationally we should be very well represented.”
Nicole Tovey will be among the seven class winners hoping to represent the Island at next month’s Central American and Caribbean Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
Tovey’s decision to switch from fitness — a class she won last year — to bikini fitness paid dividends with the Australian emerging triumphant over second-placed Tahmeaka Thomas.
“You never know what the competition is going to bring, so I just tried to present myself the best I could on stage,” said Tovey, who competed at the Arnold Classic in Ohio in March.
“I think having competed overseas a couple of times this year has really helped and I’ve gained a bit of confidence.”
Tovey, who trains under national coach Muhsin Nasir, said she would love to return to the CACBBFF Championships, which runs from September 24 to 27.
“It‘s up to the federation and it all comes down to funding and what team they want to take,” Tovey said.
“It would be awesome to represent Bermuda again and that means I can’t relax just yet as it’s only six weeks until the competition.”
In the women’s fitness class, featuring two competitors, Zoe Roberts thrilled the audience with her eye-catching Gombey Warrior-inspired routine to fight off challenger Von-Rica Dickenson, while Tresca Trott displayed superior form and muscle tone in the women’s figure fitness, defeating Aisha Mellish and Monica Teixeira.
There was a surprise in the women’s physique with perennial favourite Sabrina Burgess, last year’s figure fitness winner, being toppled by her Positive Results stablemate and newcomer to the competition, Jamila Mallory.
In the men’s fitness, crowd-pleaser Monroe Darrell showcased his admirable athleticism during his action-packed routine to seal victory over Eston Rawlins, and in the men’s physique Bernard Opoku defended his title in a competitive class featuring the improving Deon Brangman and Dave Wolffe.
De-Von Bean finally ended JaVaughn Dill’s reign as the men’s bodybuilding champion, as well as taking home the coveted “Mr Bermuda” title. Jefta Miller, a former “Mr Bermuda”, came second with Dill finishing third.
Women’s Fitness
1. Zoe Roberts – Positive Results
2. Von-Rica Dickenson – SeaView Gym
Men’s Fitness
1. Monroe Darrell – M-Core Studio
2. Eston Rawlins – SeaView Gym
Women’s Bikini – A
1. Tahmeaka Thomas – SeaView Gym
2. Lauren D’Amico – Courthouse Gym
3. Carrie Lee DeSilva – SeaView Gym
4. Cornelia Dragan – Positive Results
5. Melissa Looby – Magnum Power Force Gym
Women’s Bikini – B
1. Nicole Tovey – Beast Gym and SeaView Gym
2. Kai Miller – Positive Results
3. Jasmine DeSilva – Studio One
4. Marilyn Cupidore – Positive Results
Women’s Bikini overall
1. Nicole Tovey
2. Tahmeaka Thomas
Women’s Figure Fitness – A
1. Monica Teixeira – Positive Results
2. Tyesha Barioni – SeaView Gym
Women’s Figure Fitness – B
1. Aisha Mellish – Positive Results and Studio One
2. Arlene Basden – SeaView Gym
3. Chanika Jones – SeaView Gym
4. Sally-Ann Jones – SeaView Gym
Women’s Figure Fitness – C
1. Tresca Trott – SeaView Gym, Beast Gym and Fusion Fitness
2. Shahidah Shamsid-Dean – Positive Results
3. Annette Eve – Magnum Power Force Gym
4. Leonia Dill – Magnum Power Force Gym
Women’s Figure overall
1. Tresca Trott
2. Aisha Melish
3. Monica Teixeira
Men’s Physique – A
1. Dave Wolffe – Magnum Power Force Gym
2. Jerry Robinson – The Athletic Club
3. Javon Darrell – Positive Results
Men’s Physique – B
1. Bernard Opoku – BEAST Gym & SeaView Gym
2. Hafid James – Positive Results
3. Cervio Cox – SeaView Gym
Men’s Physique – C
1. Deon Brangman – SeaView Gym
2. Julian Johnson – SeaView Gym
3. Omar James – Magnum Power Force Gym & Studio One
Men’s Physique overall
1. Bernard Opoku
2. Deon Brangman
3. Dave Wolffe
Women’s Physique
1. Jamila Mallory – Positive Results
2. Sabrina Burgess – Positive Results
3. Jerry-Dee Dears – Positive Results
Men’s Bodybuilding
1. De-Von Bean – Magnum Power Force Gym
2. Jefta Miller – Magnum Power Force Gym
3. JaVaughn Dill – SeaView Gym
