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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THE 2021 edition of the exciting Manicaland Classic bodybuilding lived up to its billing, albeit being the first contest to be held after a lengthy Covid-19 induced lockdown layoff.
Bodybuilders from almost all corners of the country including Harare, Bulawayo, Chegutu, Beitbridge, Gweru and Rusape among other towns converged at Golden Peacock Hotel last week on Saturday in Mutare where Nunurai Masosonere scooped pole position in the senior men bodybuilding main event.
Hulky Mutare bodybuilder, Brighton Mazikana came second.
Simbarashe Nyamukondiwa was third, while Privilege Makarange settled for fourth position.
Knowledge Mudzingwa and Suwali Masiye came fifth and sixth, respectively.
Tobias Pedzayi Madzime, the chairman for the Manicaland Classic 2021 edition organising committee, said: “The general overview of the event is that it was tremendous.
“It was way above everyone’s expectations. Being the first competition to be held after the pandemic lockdown, it was really fantastic.
“The support that we had from the mother body, the secretary general, Quiet Shangani and Givemore Marume among others made everything easy.
“The support that we got from our coordinator ,Simbarashe Dube was really valuable. It would not have been easy without him.”
Madzime said although sponsorship was a challenge, that did not dampen the bodybuilders’ spirits.
“We had challenges in terms of sponsorship, but all these guys I mentioned made sure that the event was successful. We hope we will be able to get more corporate partnership in future events,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction at the standards of the 2021 Manicaland Classic competition.
“I really want to thank the participation of bodybuilders from all across the country. It actually shows that they have the zeal to make these provincial competitions much better.
“Everyone who will host a bodybuilding contest will benchmark their standards with the Manicaland Classics.
“I also want to congratulate the guys who won. It is unfortunate that this time around, the ladies did not come forward, but the defending champion came to defend her title and by unanimous decision she grabbed it back.
“People need to understand that this a sport for both women and men. It is a family sport that we encourage all and sundry to take interest in,” Madzime said.
He also called on more aspiring bodybuilders in Manicaland to take the sport seriously and partake in such contests.
“I believe we still have a challenge and we really need to encourage more bodybuilders to come forward and make sure we have the numbers as a province and possibly make this a strictly Manicaland competition.
“It is our wish to make this a closed competition for the bodybuilders here in Manicaland.
“It is always disappointing to see athletes from other provinces coming to win competitions here,” he said.
In the men’s physique, Blessing Itai Sithole came first, while Genius Garai was second. Munengoni Tarusarira settled for third position.
In the women bikini fitness, defending champions and sole contestant in this year’s event, Lynette Tom, retained her title.
In the men’s fitness category, Paul Bako snatched pole position, while Tatenda Makoto weighed in second position.
Coleen Chikodzi came third.
Walter Sithole and Francois Nyashanu settled for fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Ian Boora was sixth.
For the junior men bodybuilding contest, the winner was Aaron Musarurwa, with Darlington Mukanwa coming second.
Lewis Hlahla was third.
Thabo Sibanda and Panashe Mabika were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Denver Ngwaru settled for sixth position.
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