Home|Sports|Champions crowned at BBWFF NationalsSports
At 56, Robinson puts on a show; takes home overall title
Simba FrenchSend an emailJuly 24, 2023 185 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
There was standing room only at University of The Bahamas’ (UB) Performing Arts Center on Saturday as athletes put on a show at the Bahamas Bodybuilding, Wellness and Fitness Federation’s (BBWFF) Novice and National Championships.
BBWFF President Joel Stubbs said he was happy to see the amateurs as well as the professionals competing. There were some new faces, too.
“We brought our pros back which allowed the audience to get a taste of these individuals who once competed on this stage. We’ve seen one or two making tracks like Raynor Ferguson, Jason Johnson, Jimmy Norius, Lorraine Lafleur and others. I was happy to see them compete,” Stubbs said. “In the novice, we saw a lot of new faces which was very exciting for us. It speaks to the fact that the sport is continuing with new vibrant talent and individuals are still poised and want to do bodybuilding even though we are not one of the top sports in the country. Our athletes in the nationals came out and stepped up.”
Picking up where he left off after making a return after seven years was Godfrey Robinson. Robinson left the venue with the masters title and the national bodybuilding title along with awards for most muscular and best routine.
“The competition was challenging because I last competed in 2016 at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding Championships,” Robinson said. “I suffered a setback with a hernia in my left groin and I wasn’t able to train and do abdominal work, so I relied on my diet. I did the masters and chose to do the open class against the younger guys. Faith had it and I came out on top tonight (Saturday).”
The 56-year-old put on a show for the patrons and the judges, claiming the title over his younger counterparts. Orick Nesbitt and Reginald Delancy took away the silver and bronze medals respectively in the overall posedown.
“It was great competing against these younger guys after being in the game since 1996,” Robinson said. “I competed tonight and what played in my victory tonight was my experience when it comes to stage presentation, posing and the whole nine yards.”
Placing second in the men’s masters was Nesbitt. Andrew Sweeting was third.
In men’s
bodybuilding, Clifford Dawkins won the light middleweight division, Robinson won the welterweight division, Andrew Gibson prevailed in the middleweight division, Ricardo Mitchell finished first in the super middleweight division, Reginald Delancy took home the top spot in the light heavyweight division and Nesbitt won in the heavyweight division.
Robinson said he is looking forward to competing for The Bahamas at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships in September. As for defending his national title, he said he is looking to bring a better package to the stage next year.
On the pro side, Jimmy Norius ended a busy night for him, winning the men’s bodybuilding open pro division. Finishing second was Jamiel Hamilton.
One of the busiest and competitive divisions was the men’s physique nationals. It was a tough division as all the top three competitors put on a show for the judges and crowd. In the end, the crowd and the judges were on the same page and Judah Forbes came away with that title. Aaron Mackey finished second and Briceton Anderson finished third.
Kevin Johnson won in Class A, Anderson won over Anthon Forbes in Class B, Ricardo Gibson won over Charon McKenzie in Class C, Judah Forbes won in Class D and Brandon Bastian won in Class F.
In men’s classic physique nationals, Anthon Moxey won in Class B, Andrew Gibson won in Class C, Ricardo Mitchell won in Class D and Andrew Sweeting won in Class E.
In the open pro division of men’s physique, Jason Johnson showed off his muscles and came out victorious. Kaif Young was second and Norius settled for third.
In men’s fitness, Anderson won over Alexander Kemp.
The ladies came out and put on a show, especially in the women’s open wellness. In the end, it was Cara Saunders who took home the title. Ivanique Kemp was second and Aneka Thompson placed third.
In the bikini nationals, there were three classes competing. Class D was the most competitive. Venice Pyfrom won that class and Leslie-Simone Cox was second. Karine McDen was the only competitor in Class E and Class B only had Amy Sands competing. Sands was the only competitor in the women’s fit model division as well. Sands ended the night as the overall bikini champion nationals.
There was some stiff competition in the women’s wellness nationals in Class B. Denica Thompson won that division and Andrecka Dames was second. Finishing third was Jackie Cleare. Kemp was the only competitor in Class D.
The women’s figure nationals division had one competitor, Dorcas Cox. Sanadia Smith was first overall in women’s physique.
Rashield Edgecombe won the men’s classic physique open and Norius settled for second. In the men’s physique open, another competitive division, Jason Johnson came out on top. Last year’s national champion Kaif Young was second, Norius finished third, Raynor Ferguson was fourth, Endierich Rahming finished fifth, Davin Johnson was sixth and Terran Knowles finished seventh.
Kareem Brancaccio won the men’s fit model category over Alexander Kemp.
The amateurs were competing for spots on the team that the federation will be sending to compete at the CAC Championships, set for September 21-25, at Aruba Marriott Resort Stellaris Casino in Palm Beach, Aruba.
“We are anticipating a good team. We haven’t won the CAC for the past five or six years, but we were close. We are going to see if we can get back to the top spot,” said Stubbs.
The federation is looking to name the team sometime this week, relying on the recommendations of a selection committee.