Chienderamwano retains Mr Zim crown

Midlands Correspondent
BOTSWANA-based Champion Chienderamwano retained his Mr Zimbabwe bodybuilding crown amid murmurs of disapproval from a section of the crowd and fellow contestants at a colourful event held at 7 Arts Theatre in Harare on Saturday night. The win was his third consecutive Mr Zimbabwe title and asserted his dominance on the local bodybuilding scene having recently secured the Mr Ironman Zimbabwe title in September. The hunk shrugged off stiff competition from his nemesis and crowd favourite Isaac “Sugar” Chimuchenga, who had earlier won the middleweight division. Most neutrals believed the Gweru-based bodybuilder was in his best shape since the Mr Ironman pageant last month.

Lightweight champion Garikayi Mujuru and South African-based Ndumiso Dhlodhlo, who won the senior light-heavyweight category, also made the cut for the top gong. Chienderamwano, whose biggest asset is his big frame, was over the moon after the win, but conceded that competition was very stiff.

“I’m just used to winning and there’s nothing much I need to prove now,” said Chienderamwano. “It’s only that negative comments should just raise you up and people just say a lot of things, but like I always say, criticism comes with territory,” he said in an apparent response to a section of the crowd that was not happy with his victory.

“Tonight’s competition was tough because when you stand with lightweight people and middleweight people, they’re balanced guys who always try to bring their best so it wasn’t that easy.” Chienderamwano then indicated that he would be taking a one-year sabbatical from body building to concentrate on “other things” and would return to the sport in 2017. In other categories, South African-based Regina Jonga claimed the Miss Zimbabwe crown.

In the senior men wheelchair bodybuilding category, Bulawayo’s Marko Mwale walked away with the crown after beating city compatriot Francis Machingauta. Mwale was happy that he had bagged a double after he was also crowned Mr Ironman Zimbabwe last month. “It feels good to win once again and I’m going to keep working hard so that I also compete in regional competitions,” he said.

List of winners:
Senior men
Lightweight