The Tribune

BY BRENT STUBBS

BSTUBBS@TRIBUNEMEDIA.NET

IT’S not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in the local sports scene, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK

THAT WAS

THE ballroom in the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island wasn’t as packed as I had anticipated for the 43rd Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships over the weekend.

But for those who showed up, they got a chance to see some of the top male and female competitors in action.

And it was an added treat for the local spectators as Team Bahamas - as expected - emerged as the overall champions. It’s hard not to be able to accomplish such a feat with the good old home cooking and fan support that comes from having the home court advantage.

A total of seven gold, five silver and four bronze were inked on the Bahamas’ ledger with a total of 194 points for the victory, dethroning the Dominican Republic, who finished in second with 154 points. Barbados rounded out the top three with 147 points.

Although there were 29 categories in fitness, physique, bikini and bodybuilding to go through, many people didn’t expect the championship to last as long as it did. The final on Saturday started after 2pm and it didn’t finish until after midnight. So imagine if it had started the way it normally does with the local competition at 7pm.

Remember when you went to the competition and you watched the competitors compete in just bodybuilding. Now it seems as if every year, the organisers are keen on introducing more and more categories which, in turn, has increased the participation of the competitors.

For instance, there is no longer any bodybuilding category for the women. Instead, they compete in the physique, body fitness, bikini and fitness categories. The only problem I had was it’s hard to distinguish the difference between some of the categories unless you follow the sport.

For those spectators who only showed up to support their families and friends, I think the commentators could have done a better job of providing an overview of what to look for when the athletes came out to compete. There were just too many categories and some people felt that only because they saw some of the competitors competing with and without shoes and wearing jewellery that they realised that there was a difference.

What made it more confusing was the fact that looking at some of the competitors on stage, it was hard to decipher what the judges were looking for because it was obvious that some of the winners should not have won and some of the losers should not have lost.

There is always some discrepancy in the outcome, but as usual, the judges’ decision is final and in this case, the performances were what they were.

To participate in a sport like this, one has to be dedicated and disciplined to the training and dieting required to go on stage to win. So it’s so disheartening when an athlete comes up short of advancing to the final or not being one of the top three finishers to secure a trophy at the championship.

Having gone backstage at the championship, it was quite interesting to see the intensity that the competitors brought to the stage, only to come back off having fallen short. There were a lot of intense moments in the camps set up by the various countries. Unless you saw it, you wouldn’t understand how difficult it was for some of them when they didn’t win.

Despite what the athletes went through, Team Bahamas did very well. And although there were no overall winners from the Bahamas, the 43-member team must be commended for their effort.

While some indicated their disappointment, there were others who were quite pleased and in one or two instances, rather surprised, in their positions. Jimmy Norius was one of them. Although he came up with a pair of gold medals in the men’s bodybuilding masters and welterweight divisions, he was a little stunned that they got them both. Reality, however, came through for Norius when he came back on stage to compete in the posedown for the overall title.

The heavier Germain Navarro of Aruba was clearly the best bodybuilder on stage and, as a result, the light heavyweight was crowned the champion.

He was followed by Jerry Suero of the Dominican Republic, the men’s physique champion, Rosian Warrington from Antigua & Barbuda in the female body fitness, Jamila Mallory of Bermuda in the women’s physique and Yoly Hawley from the Dutch Dt Martin in the women’s bikini, who won the overall titles in their divisions.

And Norius, while he emerged as a double champion, was joined by Charles Reckley, the bantamweight champion, Paul Wilson-Stubbs, the lightweight champion, Dawn Charlton, the fitness women’s open and Dekel Nesbitt, the body fitness 1.68 C champion, who got the national flag raised and national anthem during the medal presentations.