George muscles to Smalta triumph

DAMIEN GEORGE of Curepe emerged as the overall men’s winner of the annual Malta Carib Junior National Bodybuilding and Miss Fitness Championships, which was staged at the UWI Sports and Physical Education Centre, St Augustine on Sunday night.

George, who earlier captured the men’s middleweight division, with Peter Fraser second and Rheno Ramberose third, gained the judges’ nod ahead of fellow individual winners — Anthony Scantlebury (lightweight), Ronald Brooks (light heavyweight) and Anselm Julien (heavyweight). But the compact George expressed surprise at his victory, especially with Brooks, the crowd’s favourite, posing a great threat on the night. “I had a very good time, but I’m very surprised of the outcome,” said George, who trains at the La Joya Fitness Centre in St Joseph. “The confidence was there but I just didn’t know if I could’ve pulled it through.”

Serena James claimed the women’s open title, followed by Karen George and Camille Abdul-Goberdhan, while Julien took the men’s heavyweight crown ahead of Kerry Adams; with Allan Prescod disqualified for an illegal move at the start of his routine. But the star of the night was American Melvin Anthony, the world’s 11th ranked professional body-builder who dazzled the crowd with a series of  moves, accompanied by the tunes “What Will You Do?” (Isley Brothers and R Kelly), “Pump It Up” (Joe Budden) and an encore performance to Sean Paul’s “Get Busy.”

OTHER RESULTS -
Men’s Lightweight:1. Anthony Scantle-bury; 2. Alcan Checkley; 3. Adam Mohammed.
Men’s Light Heavyweight: 1.Ronald Brooks; 2. Kirk Ceballo; 3. Adrian Brown.
Miss Fitness: 1. Jacqueline Cabie; 2. Karen George; 3. Kamlan Aleong.